Top-class finishing by Dwayne Bravo carried the Chennai Super Kings to a thrilling four-wicket victory with two balls to spare over the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras in their Nokia Champions League match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk on Wednesday.
A devastating burst of off-spin from JP Duminy seemed to have given the Cobras a firm hold on proceedings, but Bravo raced to 46 not out off 25 balls to turn the tables on the South Africans.
The Super Kings went into the penultimate over needing 23 runs and Bravo lashed fast bowler Dale Steyn for a massive six over midwicket and then stroked the next two balls for superb fours through the off side.
The West Indian showed fine composure and timed the ball beautifully on a slow pitch, largely choosing orthodox strokes and executing them well.
The Cobras will be aghast that they jaywalked their way through the closing overs of both their innings and Chennai’s to let strong positions slip.
Steyn had bowled three overs for 12 runs, but made a mess of the 19th over, gifting Bravo the biggest six of the tournament (105m) with a full toss and then offering too much width and length with the next two balls.
Mike Hussey, probably the most in-form batsman in the world right now, went to town at the start of the innings as Chennai set off in pursuit of 146 for victory.
Henriques the hero as NSW win Super Over: The Champions League Twenty20 produced another cliffhanger on Wednesday as New South Wales beat Trinidad and Tobago in a one-over eliminator following a dramatic tie. Both the game and the eliminator went down to the final ball, and in both cases Moises Henriques was the hero after first getting the Blues within touching distance of Trinidad’s 139 for six, and then taking 18 from Ravi Rampaul in the Super Over.
Rampaul was a bizarre choice for the Super Over given that he had just conceded 16 in the final over of New South Wales’ chase, especially with the West Indian spinners having done a tight job. And Trini skipper Daren Ganga was left to lament his decision when Rampaul was guilty of bowling a full toss but also of not bowling to his field as Henriques hammered 4 fours.
Nevertheless Lendl Simmons took Trinidad close as he hit Steven O’Keefe for a six and a four to leave three required off the final ball to secure another tie, which would have seen the islanders scoop the points due to the fact that they hit more sixes in the one-over eliminator.
However he was caught at long-off by David Warner as he went in search of a maximum, leaving Trinidad without a win in their opening two fixtures.
New South Wales had gone into the final over of their chase needing an unlikely 17 to win, but managed 16 to finish on 139 for eight as Rampaul lost the plot and bowled too straight to an off-side field. Henriques (18 not out off nine balls) hit the first two deliveries for boundaries before handing the strike to tail-ender Pat Cummins, who took six from the next two balls.
However with two required from the final delivery Cummins could only squeeze the ball to the off side for a single to leave the scores tied.
That marked a superb comeback from New South Wales, who had blown the advantage created by a strong opening partnership of 48 between David Warner (38) and Shane Watson.
No-one in the middle order was able to regain momentum for the Blues after the pair’s departure as they slumped to 115 for seven with just 11 balls remaining in the innings, before Henriques’ late charge helped them to the tie.
Henriques was named man of the match, having earlier taken 2 for 27 to restrict Trinidad and Tobago to a par score on a slow Chennai pitch.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 146 for 6 (Bravo 45*, Duminy 4-20) beat Cape Cobras 145 for 7 (Shah 45, Bravo 2-23) by four wickets.
Trinidad & Tobago 139 for 6 (Simmons 41, Henriques 2-27) tied with New South Wales 139 for 8 (Warner 38, S Ganga 3-26, Narine 2-26)
Super Over New South Wales 18 beat Trinidad & Tobago 15 by three runs.
