Uncharacteristic Hayden sinks Mumbai

PORT ELIZABETH: Matthew Hayden made a controlled half-century as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

The defeat virtually ended Mumbai’s chances of reaching the semi-finals. Hayden made 60 not out off 57 balls, pacing his innings superbly as Chennai chased down a moderate Mumbai total of 147-5, winning with five balls to spare.

JP Duminy was mainly responsible for Mumbai reaching their total. He made 62 off 54 balls. It was a familiar tale for Mumbai, with Duminy holding the innings together after the team’s stars, Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar (11), were dismissed. Jayasuriya threatened to play a major innings, hitting 30 off 17 balls. Duminy and Abhishek Nayar (33 not out) put on 65 for the fourth wicket.

Hayden was unusually cautious at the start of Chennai’s innings. At the mid-innings break he had scored only 15 off 28 balls in a total of 56-2. Chennai looked in a trouble when Subramaniam Badrinath was out in the 11th over but Hayden, partnered by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, lifted his scoring rate as Chennai won comfortably in the end. Hayden reached his fifth half-century of the campaign with a huge six off Harbhajan Singh which sailed out of the ground beyond mid-wicket.

On Friday, Kings XI Punjab stayed in contention for a semi-final berth with a comprehensive six-wicket win over table toppers Delhi Daredevils. Daredevils, already in the semi-finals, stayed on top of the table with 16 points from 11 matches while Kings XI moved up to the sixth place with 12 points from 12 matches.

After deciding to field, Kings XI bowlers led by speedster Brett Lee restricted the formidable Delhi Daredevils to 120-9. Man of the Match Lee picked up 3-15. Kumar Sangakkara then made a composed unbeaten 43 and Irfan Pathan (21 not out) hit three sixes in the later stages of the game as Kings XI made 123-4 with five balls to spare.

Kings XI also avenged the humiliation they faced at the hands of Delhi in their previous encounter, with Daredevils winning that match by 10 wickets via the Duckworth Lewis Method.

Kings XI Punjab now have to win their last two matches by big margins to improve their run rate but their semi-final hopes will largely depend on the outcome of other games.