Vijay, Hussey hundred stand takes Chennai to 205
Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay (L) during their record partnership stand against Bangalore in the IPL final © AFP
By Suneer Chowdhary
Chennai: May 28, 2011
Throughout this tournament, different players have come to the party for the Chennai Super Kings at unexpected times. Tonight belonged to Murali Vijay, who slammed a 52-ball 95, after having come into the match with serious form-questions hanging over his neck. His record partnership for the first wicket tonight propelled the Super Kings to more than 200 against the Royal Challengers, a huge score given that it was the final of the IPL.
It was a facet of the game that hadn’t been too much on display throughout this edition of the IPL. Teams have had those who could tonk the ball out of the park, fielders who could do an excellent job in shaving off 15-20 runs, bowlers who could choke the flow of runs but the running between the wickets in the tournament hasn’t been one to really write home about.
Chennai Super Kings seemed to have strategized to overturn that in this final and both, Vijay and Hussey executed it to perfection.
The Chennai openers were frenetic from the very first over, a brace of runs off the second ball to third-man indicting the intent. Another three was carved out of a flick to the deep mid-wicket before both, Vijay and Hussey smashed a six apiece off successive balls.
Not that those twin-strokes slowed their intent to hare between the wickets each time the ball even went slightly to either the left or right of the deep fielder. The fielders having run ragged, conceded overthrows and the pattern of successive sixes by different batsmen continued to push the run-rate up and the Bangalore shoulders down. Chennai had gone up to 56 without loss in six overs.
The run-flow continued after the field restrictions were lifted as well. It wasn’t carnage by any stretch but a consistent accumulation of runs with a customary boundary and well-run singles and twos. The first big over came only in 12th when a very well-set Vijay deposited two sixes to the mid-wicket fence. Sreenath Aravind was the hapless bowler who conceded 18 in that over and the Super Kings had breached the ten-run/over run-rate.
Daniel Vettori brought Zaheer and himself in successive overs to get a few wickets in a bid to stall the run-rate. However, 22 came off those two before another 18 runs were hit off Syed Mohammad’s 15th over. Syed Mohammad did manage to have Hussey caught at the fence in the same over but by then the Super Kings had got to 161 and had five overs remaining in the kitty.
The run-rate was pulled back by Zaheer and Vettori towards the end, and then by the two wickets that Aravind scalped in the 19th. This was interspersed by a Gayle over that went for a six of each of its first and the last ball and another that saw him pick up two wickets for seven as the Super Kings raced off to 205 for five in their 20 overs.
Brief scores: CSK 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Murali Vijay 95, Michael Hussey 63; Chris Gayle 2 for 34, Sreenath Aravind 2 for 39) vs RCB
(Suneer is a Mumbai-based cricket writer and can be contacted at suneerchowdhary@gmail.com and Tweets here @suneerchowdhary)