CHENNAI: Manvinder Bisla lost the battle to Mike Hussey in the end, and revenge was served at Chepauk on Sunday, but only just.
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Bisla matched the Aussie veteran stroke for stroke, as Ko l k at a Knight Riders, chasing a mammoth 201 for victory, raised visions of the miracle of 2012. But with 22 to get off 10, Hussey hit the stumps direct from mid-off to get Bisla out and that was it. KKR had to get 18 off the last over but Eoin Morgan failed to get the elevation and the defending champions went down by 14 runs, leaving themselves in a deep hole. Super Kings, on the other hand, are unstoppable and look good for a top-two finish.
The KKR chase was all about Bisla, who probably played better than the 2012 final. He swung his bat with absolute freedom and kept finding the fence. Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis helped him for a while, but when it was 100 to get off eight overs, CSK would have thought they would get there easy. Bisla fought on and got it down to 28 off two overs, but Hussey's hit finally pulled the curtains down.
Before Bisla took centrestage, it was Hussey who stamped his class yet again. The pitch was a batting beauty, the ball was coming on, and the KKR bowlers struggled to find the right length. Anything short was getting pulled, anything up was played over the top and the likes of L Balaji, Shami Ahmed and Jacques Kallis simply ran out of ideas. The openers, Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha, were frantic in their running between the wickets as well and there was not a single quiet over.
Hussey, quite clearly, was taking the lead, while Saha (39 off 23 balls) was ready to play second fiddle. But the Bengal boy, playing his first match of the tournament, showed that he is not at all a misfit in this CSK line-up that has such fantastic hitters.
Spin was introduced early on, but both Saha and Hussey gave the impression that they were reading Sunil Narine (1-35 ) pretty well. When the West Indian mystery spinner started leaking boundaries, Gautam Gambhir looked a little resigned.
The 100 came up in the 10th over and Saha knew that his job was done. He went for the big shot, holed out and allowed Raina to come in. Raina and Hussey looked even more dangerous and when the Aussie was getting tired, the Indian left-hander looked to take charge. A century would have been the icing on the cake for Hussey, but the team man that the Aussie is, he kept looking for the big shots even when he was within striking distance. He finally got out for 95, leaving Dhoni to provide the final touches.
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