Dhoni excels; CSK trounce Hyderabad

DC made a couple of changes to their playing (Fid)eleven – Azharuddin Bilakhia and Edwards made way for V V S Laxman and Ryan Harris.

CSK made no changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK’s skipper and the player of the match, chose to bat.

CSK’s openers put on 50 off 5.4 overs (36 balls). DC had conceded three extras at that point. While Murali Vijay’s contribution to the partnership was 15, Matthew Hayden’s contribution to it was 34.

Hayden, whose 26-ball innings included five boundaries and three sixes, eventually scored 43. Forty-three balls into the match, he was caught by Rudra Pratap Singh. Shoaib Ahmed broke the 61-run partnership.

Ten overs into the match, the drinks break was taken. CSK had scored 84 for the loss of a wicket at that point. While Vijay’s contribution to the partnership was 28, Dhoni’s contribution to it was six.

Vijay, whose 33-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 31. Thirty-three balls after Hayden’s dismissal, he was caught by Herschelle Gibbs. Tirumalasetti Suman broke the 38-run stand.

CSK scored 100 off 12.2 overs (77 balls). DC had conceded nine extras at that point.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 30 balls. While Dhoni’s contribution to the partnership was 20, Suresh Raina’s contribution to it was 30. Extras didn’t contribute to the partnership.

CSK scored 150 off 17.2 overs (107 balls). DC had conceded nine extras at that point.

Raina, whose 19-ball innings included a boundary and a couple of sixes, eventually scored 32. Thirty-eight balls after Vijay’s dismissal, he was caught by Dwayne Smith. Singh broke the 54-run partnership.

Dhoni’s half-century – which included five boundaries and a six – came off 35 balls.

He eventually scored 58 off 37 balls, which included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six. He was unbeaten, as was Albie Morkel, who faced five balls, scoring four.

DC eventually conceded 10 extras. CSK scored 178 for the loss of three wickets off 20 overs.

Rohit Sharma, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded eight.

Smith, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 21.

Harris and Pragyan Ojha bowled four wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 39, the latter conceded 26.

Ahmed, who bowled a couple of overs, conceded 14. He picked up a wicket.

Suman, who bowled three overs, conceded 29. He picked up a wicket.

Singh, who bowled four overs, conceded 36. He picked up a wicket.

DC’s openers didn’t get off the mark. Adam Gilchrist, their skipper, faced a ball, failing to open his account. A ball into the chase, he was trapped leg before wicket by Albie Morkel.

Gibbs, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Sudeep Tyagi had a reason to be in seventh heaven – he broke the one-run stand.

The third-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Laxman had no reason to be in seventh heaven – half-a-dozen balls later, he was caught by Shadab Jakati off the bowling of Morkel.

DC scored 50 off 5.4 overs (36 balls). CSK had conceded three extras at that point.

The fourth-wicket pair put on 50 off 21 balls. While Sharma’s contribution to the partnership was 13, the Barbadian’s contribution to it waS(mi)thirty-five. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a couple.

Sharma, whose 20-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, eventually scored 21. (Badrina)Thirty-eight balls after Laxman’s dismissal, he was caught by Subramaniam. Jakati broke the 72-run partnership.

Smith, whose 23-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and five sixes, eventually scored 49. He was trapped leg be‘four’ wicket by Jakati, who broke the two-run stand.

Ten overs into the match, the drinks break was taken. DC had scored 79 for the loss of five wickets at that point. While Suman was batting on three, Venugopal Rao had scored a run.

Rao, who faced five balls, eventually scored just a couple. Ten balls after Smith’s dismissal, he was caught by Muttiah Muralitharan. Needless to say, Jakati was in seventh heaven.

Harris, who faced four balls, scored a run. A couple of balls later, Jakati broke the 14-run stand.

Singh, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored just a couple. Seven balls later, he was caught by Vijay. Muralitharan broke the three-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Suman, whose run-a-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, eventually scored 17. The next ball, he was caught by Vijay off the bowling of Muralitharan.

Ahmed, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

DC scored 100 off 14.2 overs (89 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave CSK no reason to be in seventh heaven. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Ojha, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t get off the mark. Four balls after Suman’s dismissal, he was caught by Jakati. Raina broke the one-run stand.

DC, who were bundled out for 100 off 14.4 overs, lost by 78 runs.

Lakshmipathy Balaji, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded 18.

Raina, who bowled 10 balls, conceded 12. He picked up a wicket, as was Tyagi, who bowled a couple of overs, conceding nine.

Morkel – whose spell included a maiden – and Muralitharan bowled three overs each, picking up two wickets apiece. While the former conceded 24, the latter conceded 11.

Jakati, who bowled four overs, conceded 22. He picked up four scalps.