Chennai: Michael Hussey marked his return to Indian Premier League as he anchored the Chennai Super Kings to a 21-run victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore who slid to their third defeat in four matches yesterday.
Dropped on three occasions, Hussey (83 not out) carried his bat and helped the Super Kings post 183 for five.
Bangalore never recovered from the early loss of wickets and finished on 162 for seven with AB de Villiers making a fighting 64.
It was the Super Kings' second win in three matches and they did well to bounce back after their shock loss to Kings XI Punjab, who chased down a target of 189 at Mohali earlier this week.
Sloppy fielding as much as Hussey's power hitting marked the first half of the match as the Super Kings profited from lapses to pile on the runs.
Capitalised
Hussey displayed his ability to hit the big shots as he fully capitalised on an early let-off to hold the innings together with a blend of caution and aggression.
Hussey played the role of an anchor to near perfection as the others batted around him. Opener Murali Vijay (31), Suresh Raina (29) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (21) scored quickly while the Aussie went about his task methodically.
For the visitors, seamer Johan van der Wath was the pick of bowlers. Though he went for 49 in his four overs, he had three catches dropped, misses which seemed to disturb his concentration.
Early on the pitch had some pace on it with the ball coming on nicely. But as the innings progressed it seemed to slow down, making batting much more difficult.
Hussey adapted well to the changing situation while the other batsmen played without inhibition as the Super Kings showcased the depth in their line-up.
The final few overs saw runs coming in a torrent as the Bangalore attack seemed to wilt under pressure. The lack of depth in their bowling stood out as the home batsmen made merry to post another 180-plus total.
The Challengers stumbled early in their chase, losing three wickets in the power-play. These dismissals brought Kohli and de Villiers together. The two survived some close calls as they rebuilt the innings with flashes of aggression.
Momentum
The introduction of left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati provided a heaven-sent opportunity for the Bangalore pair to indulge in some big hitting and provide the chase with a bit of momentum.
However, Jakati, showing a lot of character, hit back by having Kohli caught in the deep to end the threatening 42-run partnership.
Despite mounting pressure, de Villiers underlined his class with some bold hits, especially targeting Jakati, who proved rather expensive conceding 36 runs in his three overs.
But wickets kept falling at the other end and though de Villiers kept battling until his dismissal in the 19th over, the target proved beyond Bangalore's reach.
Scoreboard
Chennai Super Kings
* Michael Hussey not out 83
* Murali Vijay c Zaheer b Ninan 31
* Suresh Raina c Agarwal b Ninan 29
* M.S. Dhoni c de Villiers b Zaheer 22
* Albie Morkel c Agarwal b van der Wath 9
* S. Badrinath c Ninan b van der Wath 5
Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-1): 4
Total: (for 5 wickets in 20 overs) 183
Fall of wickets: 1-51 (Vijay, 6.3 overs), 2-96 (Raina, 10.5); 3-147 (Dhoni, 16.3); 4-176 (Morkel, 19.1); 5-183 (Badrinath, 19.6)
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 4-0-33-1; Daniel Vettori 4-0-23-0; Johan van der Wath 4-0-49-2; Tillakaratne Dilshan 2-0-21-0; Ryan Ninan 3-0-31-2; Virat Kohli 3-0-23-0.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
* Mayank Agarwal c Morkel b Ashwin 7
* T. Dilshan c Anirudha b Morkel 0
* Asad Pathan b Southee 14
* Virat Kohli c Anirudha b Jakati 35
* AB de Villiers c Anirudha b Morkel 64
* Saurabh Tiwary c Dhoni b Randiv 14
* Cheteshwar Pujara c Vijay b Randiv 2
* Johan van der Wath not out 14
* Daniel Vettori not out 2
Extras (lb-4, w-6): 10
Total (for 7 wickets in 20 overs) 162
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Dilshan, 0.2 overs); 2-17 (Pathan, 1.2); 3-31 (Agarwal, 4.5); 4-73 (Kohli, 10.5); 5-112 (Tiwary, 14.6); 6-127 (Pujara, 16.4); 7-145 (de Villiers, 18.2).
Bowling: Albie Morkel 4-0-34-2; Tim Southee 4-0-32-1 ; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-22-1 ; Suraj Randiv 4-0-24-2; Shadab Jakati 3-0-36-0 ; Suresh Raina 1-0-10-0.
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