Pune Warriors 5-159 (Aaron Finch 67, Steven Smith 39*, Chris Morris 2-25) beat Chennai Super Kings 8-135 (Subramaniam Badrinath 34, Ravindra Jadeja 27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-12, Ashok Dinda 2-34) by 24 runs.
A splendid partnership of 96 runs between Aaron Finch and Robin Uthappa supported by the Pune Warriors bowlers won them the game vs. Chennai Super Kings.
Pune Warriors smashed 159 runs with five wickets intact at the end of the scheduled 20 overs and Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 135 for the loss of eight wickets.
Steven Smith (Pune Wrriors) was announced ‘Player of the match’ for his thundering unbeaten knock of 39 off 16 mere balls.
The 19th match of the Indian Premier League was played on Monday, April 15, 2013, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.
Ross Taylor, the skipper of Pune Warriors, won the toss and felt no hesitation in batting first. Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch opened the innings in a smart manner as the latter hit 3 fours in the very first over. Finch added another 5 boundaries until the end of the fifth over and Uthappa tasted his first in the next over. The run rate was maintained by the duo and the score board kept on running at a great pace. Aaron Finch was the most aggressive of the two since he dispatched the first six in the eighth over and powered his fifty on the 32nd ball he faced.
The entertaining first wicket partnership produced 96 runs in 12.3 overs as Finch was stumped by the Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni, off Ravindra Jadeja for 67 from just 45 balls with 2 lofty sixes and 10 fours. Robin Uthappa was gone next after the addition of five runs to the total for 26 and Ross Taylor could score eight. The third wicket was lost at 118 in 16.1 overs when Steven Smith played an anchor’s role as the rival bowlers held a couple of wickets in the process. He remained unbeaten for 39 off 16 mere balls comprising 3 towering sixes and even fours as Pune Warriors amassed 159 runs for the loss of five wickets.
Chris Morris and Dwayne Bravo were the top wicket takers with two wickets each whereas Ravindra Jadeja held one.
Chennai Super Kings lost their first wicket on the second ball of the innings as Suresh Raina joined in with Murali Vijay who was dropped at one run on the fourth delivery of the second over. The latter hit 2 back to back fours in the fourth over as Raina was gone for eight runs and he was replaced by Subramaniam Badrinath. The sixth over resulted in 13 runs with 1 six and 1 four and the third wicket fell at 40 in 6.4 overs when Murali Vijay was caught by Taylor off Abhishek Nayar for 24.
Ravindra Jadeja got together with Badrinath, they found it difficult to keep the score board moving briskly and the boundaries were almost dried up. The pair crept to 86 in 13 overs as Subramaniam Badrinath became the fourth victim for 34 off 26 with 4 fours. Jadeja was unable to carry on and was the fifth batsman who went back to the dressing room for 27 off 22 balls with 1 six and 1 four. That was the beginning of a disaster for the home side as the wickets kept on crumbling one after another and they managed 135 runs with two wickets remaining in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda and Mitchell Marsh were the supreme bowlers with two wickets each whereas Abhishek Nayar and Rahul Sharma shared one wicket each.
Pune Warriors recorded their second victory out of five games in the IPL by a margin of 24 runs and have overall attained four points.
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