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Chennai win by 38 runs Over 20 Balaji 4-1-W- : 126-9 - WICKET! Mahesh Rawat edges the first ball past the keeper for four, but it only serves to lessen the margin of defeat. Siddharth Trivedi skies the next one to long-on, and Raina comes in to take the catch. Appropriate that he should end the match given his contribution with the bat earlier. Of course Rajasthan are only nine down, but Kamran Khan is unable to bat after twisting his ankle in the field earlier. Over 19 Oram W-1-0-1-1-1 : 121-8 - WICKET! Munaf Patel is out first ball as he wafts at a short one and gets a thin edge through to the keeper. It's all so lame that Chennai barely bother to celebrate. Rajasthan need an impossible 44 off the last over. Over 18 Balaji 0-1-W-1-1wd-1-W : 117-7 - WICKET! Knowing that the Royals desperately need boundaries, and with his skipper floundering at the other end, Jadeja takes on the midwicket fence but falls short. Hayden runs back to take an excellent catch in the outfield, and drives the final nail into Rajasthan's coffin. WICKET! Warne follows shortly after, caught at deep cover, as things really start to unravel. Over 17 Oram 1-0-0-0-1-4 : 113-5 - Dhoni whips the keeping pads off and hands them to Parthiv Patel. Oram continues and Warne swings and misses a couple before smashing one straight back at the bowler, who can only parry it away to long-off for a single. Would have been a spectacular catch if he'd taken that. Jadeja gets a little top edge over Hayden at short third man to get four off the last ball. And still the rate climbs. Rajasthan need 52 runs from 18 balls at 17.3 per over. Over 16 Muralitharan 0-6-0-2-1-0 : 107-5 - Jadeja gives his side an inkling of hope by slog-sweeping Murali over cow corner for six and cutting behind point for a couple. But that's as good as it gets and the required rate just keeps on climbing. Rajasthan need 58 runs from 24 balls at 14.50 per over. Over 15 Oram 1-0-1-1-4-W : 98-5 - The crowd have gone a bit quiet as this competition has fizzled out. Rajasthan aren't far behind where Chennai were at this stage of their innings but the difference is that Chennai had a batsman in and a couple of big hitters to come. Unless Mascarenhas goes punk you can't see where the runs are going to come from. WICKET! Oh dear. Just as I type, the Englishman gets a lucky inside edge for four past short fine leg but then miscues a drive straight to short extra cover. That's just about that you fancy. Rajasthan need 67 runs from 30 balls at 13.4 per over. Over 14 Morkel 1-1-1-0-2-0 : 91-4 - Morkel returns for his final over and finishes well. Figures of 2 for 21 from four overs are probably his best in the competition thus far, and are well deserved because he's read the batsmen well tonight. Over 13 Balaji 2-0-1-4-0-W : 86-4 - Pathan smokes another boundary, hammering a half-volley wide of long-off to beat the fielder, as this contest continues. WICKET! Rajasthan's lights go out because Pathan is out. He goes for a big one down the ground, but is caught at long-off. Dimitri Mascarenhas, the last of the Royals' big hitters, joins the action but is this as good as over? Rajasthan need 79 runs from 42 balls at 11.28 per over. Over 12 Muralitharan 4-1-1-1-2-4 : 79-3 - Swack! Splendid hit from Jadeja, who swats a full delivery straight through midwicket for four. Reached the boundary in no time at all despite traveling the entire distance along the ground. Some terrible fielding at third man from Tyagi allows two where there should have been a dot ball, and Pathan swipes the final ball of the over through square leg for four to confirm that we still have a game on our hands. Rajasthan need 86 runs from 48 balls at 10.75 per over. Over 11 Balaji 1-1-1-0-0-2 : 66-3 - Lakshmipathy Balaji, normally an opening bowler, enters the attack for the first time. He looks to have had Jadeja caught at third man off a top edge, but the batsman stands his ground because he's not convinced it was a clean catch. Replays are somewhat inconclusive, showing that it might just have bounced, and so Jadeja gets the benefit of the doubt. The Royals need 99 runs to win from 54 balls at 11 per over. Over 10 Raina 1-0-W-4-0-2 : 61-3 - WICKET! Raina's superb match continues as he has Quiney trapped leg-before. Bowling around the wicket, he just skids one on and hits the left-hander in line with off-stump. Not too much doubt about that one, and it brings Yusuf Pathan to the crease. He starts as he left off the other night, immediately swatting the ball away for four to midwicket. If Rajasthan are to have any hope here, he is the man. Over 9 Muralitharan 1wd-0-1-0-1-1-4 : 54-2 - Muralitharan and Dhoni go up for lbw again, this time for a pad-bat, but again Koertzen isn't interested. Quiney plays a beautiful late cut to beat backward point off the final ball and release a bit of the pressure, but the required rate is still 10 to the over. Over 8 Raina 1-0-1-1-1-0 : 46-2 - The almost-centurion comes to bowl, and he should have had a wicket. He lures Quiney into a speculative drive and beats the outside edge as Quiney goes walking, but Dhoni gets too excited and misses the stumping chance. Over 7 Muralitharan 0-2-1lb-1-0-0 : 42-2 - Muttiah Muralitharan joins the attack, bowling over the wicket to the left-handers, and keeps them tied down very well. An lbw appeal is turned down off the final ball as the umpire thinks it's pitched outside leg, but hawk-eye actually suggests otherwise. Over 6 Morkel 1-0-W-1-4-4 : 38-2 - Morkel is asked to continue, which is probably a good move. He can be a bit of a rhythm bowler at times and often struggles when he's in and out of the attack. WICKET! Now there's an unusual dismissal: Asnodkar is out hit wicket! He went for a big pull and half got hold of the ball, but smashed his wicket in the process. The ball is also caught so it's a double whammy! Ravindra Jadeja takes a single off his first ball, and Quiney comes to the fore with back-to-back boundaries through midwicket and extra cover. Over 5 Oram 0-1-1-1-1-6 : 28-1 - Another round of singles, and the Asnodkar pulls one over cow corner for six. Both batsmen have seemed keener on the anchor role so far, but now the little fella looks ready to take the bowlers on a bit. Rajasthan certainly need to get a move on. Over 4 Morkel 0-1-1-1-1-0 : 18-1 - Through a combination of good bowling and unadventurous batting, the over yields only singles as Rajasthan continue to struggle. Warne looks pensive on the bench, but not distressed just yet. Over 3 Tyagi 0-0-0-4lb-0-1 : 14-1 - Chennai's superb start continues unabated as Quiney can only manage four leg bye fine on the leg-side and a single down to fine leg. Conditions seem pretty tough for batting out there now. Over 2 Morkel 0-0-1-0-1-W : 9-1 - Smith shifts around in his crease to try and upset Morkel's line, but the bowler sticks to his guns and keeps his South African skipper nailed down until he scuttles through for a quick single. WICKET! Got him! Morkel serves up a wide one - probably would have been called a wide if Smith had left it - and the batsman is tempted into the drive but hits it straight to Badrinath at backward point. Big wicket for Chennai. Over 1 Tyagi 1wd-0-1-1-4-0 : 7-0 - Tyagi opens up with a wide outside off-stump, but gathers himself and finds his line thereafter. Some excellent fielding at third man by Albie Morkel stops a boundary, but Quiney plays a glorious drive through the gap between extra cover and mid-off to get the innings up and running. The ground is packed now and there's a bit of a party going on out there. It's a public holiday tomorrow, which seems like South Africa's 217th of the month, so everyone's in the mood. Rob Quiney and Graeme Smith are ready to face up to Sudeep Tyagi.
Rajasthan need 165 runs to win at 8.25 per over Over 20 Munaf 1-1-4-W-1-4 : 164-5 - WICKET! Raina slaps a full toss through extra cover for four and raises his bat to celebrate a century. The only problem is... He's only got 98. The scoreboard has deceived him, which is even more of a problem when he slices the next ball out to deep point where Smithers takes an excellent catch over his shoulder as he runs back. That brings Albie Morkel to the crease, and he cracks the final ball of the innings back over the bowler's head for four. Over 19 Trivedi 2-2-0-1-2-1wd-1 : 153-4 - Dhoni shows his pace in coming back for consecutive twos. Didn't even need the dive as he judged the runs well. Somehwat surprisingly, Trivedi is handed the ball. I would have expected Yusuf and Munaf to bowl the last two overs, but as it is Trivedi does very well in varying his pace and not allowing the batsmen to get under the ball. The only real blight is a wide outside off, which shouldn't really have been called in the first place. Over 18 Khan 6-1-6-6-2nb- Mascarenhas 2-1 : 144-4 - Kamran Khan returns, but he finds two batsmen who are ready to go. Dhoni gets a full one on his legs, but just whips it off his ankles for six over a wide fine leg. A single puts Raina on strike, and he slashes another maximum over backward point, then drives another over cover where Trivdei can only jump and palm it over the fence. Khan makes the terrible mistake of overstepping, and in fielding the ball twists his ankle. He tries to run in for a free hit but his ankle just isn't happy, so he leaves Mascarenhas with the unenviable task of bowling a free hit to Dhoni. The Indian skipper just shovels the ball high into the air, and though Graeme Smith takes the catch it takes long enough to come down for the batsmen to run two. Over 17 Trivedi 1-1-0-4-4-2 : 120-4 - Raina hits the third boundary since the midway break, thrashing Trivedi over extra cover for four, and gets another straight away as he swings a yorker through midwicket. The final ball is driven hard at Mascarenhas at short extra cover, and while he gets a hand on it the batsmen still run two. 150 is on here, which may be par given that Rajasthan will have to chase under lights. Over 16 Warne 1-0-1lb-1-1 : 108-4 - Warne bowls his fourth - they've come on the trot - and concedes just three runs and a leg-bye. Dhoni is so uncertain that he even lets one through to the keeper. Are alarm bells starting to ring for Chennai? 160 should be a good total but that's looking rather far away at the moment. Over 15 Khan 1-0-1-4-1lb-1 : 104-4 - With Dhoni showing the sort of unconvincing form we've seen throughout the tournament, Raina takes charge with a magnificent cut shot behind backward point for four. Much has been made of Chennai's bigger hitters, but Hayden aside none of them have matched Raina in the tournament to date. Over 14 Warne 4-0-2-1-0-0 : 96-4 - Raina slaps the first ball of the over through a gap in the off-side field. None of the fielders move as it flies away for four. A cheeky two off the next ball almost sees Raina run out, but he puts in the dive and the replays show he's safe. Still only seven from the over, so Chennai need to get a move on. Over 13 Munaf 0-1-0-1-W-1 : 89-4 - WICKET! Oram goes for the big heave over long-off but gets height and little distance. Mascarenhas keeps his cool to take the catch behind the bowler. The 'strategy break' has certainly shafted Chennai here because they were going great guns before, yet have scored eight runs in three overs for the loss of two wickets since! Over 12 Warne W-0-0-1-0-1wd-0 : 86-3 - WICKET! Badrinath does indeed decide it's six or sticks, and comes down the wicket to Warne, only to be stumped after misreading the turn. Jacob Oram joins the action but can't get going straight away, so Rajasthan have hit back with two tight overs after the break. Over 11 Munaf 1-1-0-0-0-1 : 84-2 - No doubt Rajasthan's fielding was discussed during that interlude, but it seems Warnie has had a few choice words for Munaf as well because he varies his pace marvellously in this over and concedes just three. Which is a bit pointless for Chennai: with Dhoni, Oram and Morkel to come, these two should have the 'six or sticks' mantra really. Over 10 Warne 1-1-4-1-1-4 : 81-2 - Warne brings himself on. Cue numerous field changes for the first ball, and a whole bunch more for the second as the right-handed Badrinath takes strike. The third ball is slog-swept for four by Raina, but only because deep midwicket allows the ball to go straight through him - the third time a Rajasthani player has allowed an unnecessary boundary. The left-hander then plays a glorious drive off the back foot to beat cover and earn four more, which leaves Chennai sitting very pretty at the halfway stage of the match. It also brings up Raina's fifty in just 26 balls. Over 9 Trivedi 0-1-4-4-1-4 : 69-2 - Siddarth Trivdei, who played a big role for Rajasthan last year, enters the attack . He starts well, but then drifts onto Raina's pads to be tickled very fine for four before Raina's luck earns another boundary, this time for an inside edge which also flies to the fine leg boundary. Badrinath then gets a slice of luck as well, his bizarre edge finding the boundary despite third man's slide. Over 8 Munaf 6-0-1-0-1-0 : 55-2 - Munaf Patel's first ball is full and wide, and Raina just leans back to lift it over cover-point for a big six. But the rest of the over is tight and the batsmen manage just a couple of singles. Over 7 Khan 1-0-0-4-1-1 : 47-2 - Kamran Khan, the man who strengthened himself by chopping wood, comes on to bowl as Warne makes his first change. The different angle makes a difference as Badrinath struggles with the left-armer, before getting a lucky break as the third man fielder gifts him a four - instead of making a straightforward stop, the balls goes straight through him. Over 6 Pathan 1-1-4-1-6-1 : 40-2 - Classy shot from Badrinath as he cuts the ball through the gap between point and short third man for four. Great shot from Raina! He gets down on one knee and exquisitely lifts the ball over long off for six. Over 5 Mascarenhas 0-2-4-0-1-0 : 26-2 - Badrinath tries to paddle the ball behind square but gets it wrong as the ball flies down to third man. No harm done though as he picks up two. Sweetly struck by Badrinath as he drives powerfully to the cover fence. Over 4 Pathan 0-0-W-1-0-1 : 19-2 - WICKET! Another one gone! Silly shot from Patel as he heaves the ball across the line, but mistimes it and gets a big top edge which is taken by Kamran Khan at square leg. Raina dabs the ball down to fine leg for one run. Badrinath is off the mark, sneaking a very tight quick single to mid-off. Over 3 Mascarenhas 0-2-6-0-0-4 : 17-1 - Raina looks to go on the drive and gets a thick outside edge and picks up two. Wow! Not wasting any time getting his eye in, Raina brings out the slog sweep and heaves Mascarenhas over midwicket, that was massive! Super timing from Raina as he works the ball square of the wicket through the off side with great power. Over 2 Pathan W-0-1-0-0-0 : 5-1 - A bit of innovation from Warne as he gets Yusuf Pathan to open the bowling. WICKET Big wicket, Hayden is gone! He gave himself room and looked to work the ball into the offside, but didn’t make contact and had his stumps disturbed. Over 1 Mascarenhas 0-0-3-1-0-0 : 4-0 - The Chennai account is opened with finesse as Patel dabs the ball down to the vacant third man area for three. Hayden gets off the mark immediately, clipping the ball to mid-wicket. Team News: The Royals have made one change, with batsman Paul Valthaty replaced by fast bowler Siddharth Trivedi. Chennai have dropped Manpreet Gony and Joginder Sharma for this clash and filled the gap with debutants Sudeep Tyagi and Shadab Jakati. Rajasthan Royals: Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rob Quiney, Yusuf Pathan, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ravindra Jedeja, Shane Warne, Mahesh Rawat, Siddarth Trivedi, Kamran Khan, Munaf Patel Chennai Super Kings: Parthiv Patel, Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel, Jacob Oram, S Badrinath, Shadab Jakati, L Balaji, Sudeep Tyagi, Muttiah Muralitharan. Toss: Shane Warne has won the toss and decided his Rajasthan outfit will have a bowl first. Hello and welcome to our coverage of game 22 of the 2009 IPL, a clash between last years finalists the Rajasthan Roayls and Chennai Super Kings.
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