IPL: Super Kings Reach Semis As Punjab Falter

IPL: Super Kings Reach Semis As Punjab Falter

©REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

Chennai Super Kings 116-9 (Patel 32, Sreesanth 2-23) beat
Kings XI Punjab 92-8 (Pomersbach 26, Muralitharan 2-8) by 24 runs
Indian Premier League, Durban

The second of two low-scoring matches in Durban on the penultimate day of Indian Premier League group matches saw the Chennai Super Kings confirm their place in the semi-finals with a 24-run win over the Kings XI Punjab.

The Super Kings were restricted to 116 for nine before the Kings XI Punjab, who are now all but out of the competition, were held to a paltry 92 for eight.

They were undone by the three spinners in Chennai's line-up as Muttiah Muralitharan (2-8), Ravi Ashwin (2-13) and Suresh Raina (2-17) conceded just 38 runs in 12 overs, taking six wickets between them.

No batsman scored more than the 32 managed by Super Kings opener Parthiv Patel and only three sixes were managed in the entire match.

George Bailey (15), Raina (20), and Jacob Oram (17) were the other men for the Super Kings to make starts as Irfan Pathan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth both picked up two wickets.

Luke Pomersbach smacked 26 in 32 balls and Pathan 14 in 12 but the Kings XI had to make do with single figure scores, star batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara contributing just 13 runs between them.

The spinners did the bulk of the damage although Thilan Thushara and Lakshmipathy Balaji also picked up a wicket.

The Kings XI will now be watching tomorrow's match between the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore with interest - all three teams are locked on 14 points, although for the Punjab team to progress, one of the teams must beat the other by a margin wide enough for the Kings XI's net run-rate, currently the worst of the three, to get them into the knockout stage.

© Cricket World 2009

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