Mumbai, May 31 (PTI) Chennai Super Kings’ pace attack ripped apart the strong Punjab Kings XI top-order batting and restricted them to a paltry 112 for 8 in the second semifinal of Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium here tonight.
Everything went wrong for Kings XI Punjab after captain Yuvraj Singh opted to bat first on winning the toss and half their side was back in the dug-out with only 40 on the board on a seaming track.
Poor batting coupled with some good seam bowling undid the Punjab side.Makhaya Ntini and Manpreet Singh Gony rocked the high-flying Kings XI Punjab side with a double strike each which reduced Yuvraj Singh-led team to a pathetic 34 for four in the sixth over. Ntini started the domination of the ball over the bat when he had James Hopes caught behind chasing an outswinger for two in the second over. Then Gony dismissed Kumar Sangakkara in similar fashion, caught by wicket keeper Parthiv Patel to leave Punjab at a shaky 2 for 11. Things became grimmer when Kings XI Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh pulled Gony, who bowled an excellent four-over spell for figures of 2 for 14, straight to Muttiah Muralitharan at wide mid-on to leave them gasping at 28 for three. But the biggest blow was when South African pacer Ntini dismissed Punjab batting mainstay Marsh in his third over. The left-handed opener from Western Australia attempted to pull a ball from wide of his stumps but only managed to get an under-edge that crashed on to the stumps to the absolute delight of the Chennai Super Kings players. PTI