Winning cricket is a lot about handling pressure. When a semifinal place beckoned, Chennai Super Kings dug a hole for itself at Chepauk on Wednesday.
A horrible mess-up saw the side slumping from 60 for no loss in the ninth over to 111 for eight when the final over commenced. Sixteen runs were required off the final six balls.
Then, Suresh Raina managed just a single run off the first three balls from Praveen Kumar. Makhaya Ntini conceded three dot balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore romped home by 14 runs.
The visitor deserved credit for the manner it fought after making just 126 for eight in 20 overs. Then, Dravid led well and his bowlers responded.
Super Kings has 14 points from 12 games while Royal Challengers takes its tally to six from an equal number of matches.
While Royal Challengers displayed great spirit on the field, it still was a match that Super Kings contrived to lose. When percentage batting was required after a solid opening stand of 60 in 9.1 overs between Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel, Super Kings batsmen perished to forgettable lofted shots. Strategically, it was poor cricket.
Dhoni’s dismissal, after he promoted himself to No. 3, was the turning point. He took a calculated risk of paceman Vinay Kumar and holed out to long on.
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