http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Murali-Vijay-c78035
Chennai Super Kings’ skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was thrilled after his side prevailed over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on May 9, 2011.
Dhoni acknowledged the efforts of Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey. He asserted that the batsmen made full use of the batting pitch.
The game between the two franchises was played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
After the win, Chennai Super Kings are now on second place, behind Mumbai Indians.
Chennai and Kolkata have equal points but CSK prevail with a better net run-rate. With the win, CSK have strengthened their chances of qualifying, much to Dhoni’s delight.
The wicket-keeper batsman was relieved that the decision of promoting himself up in the batting order paid off for him. He played a belligerent inning of 41 runs off just 19 deliveries, helping his side in mounting a massive total for Rajasthan Royals to
chase down.
Dhoni, who is also leading the Indian cricket team, revealed that they decided to make full use of the batting wicket in the pre-match discussion. They believed that a total of 180 would be competitive.
Dhoni affirmed that after the discussion, CSK went with an extra batsman in their squad. Suraj Randiv made way for the West Indian all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo.
“Good to be in the reckoning for the play-offs without leaving it for too late. It looked like a 180-190 runs wicket; we had one extra batsman, which allowed us to go harder. I pushed myself up, and glad that I scored the runs. The platform was good this
time from Hussey and Vijay to capitalise," said CSK skipper.
Murali Vijay was the Player of the Match for his commendable 53-run knock. The local Indian boy was overjoyed with his performance and hoped that runs keep on flowing through his bat in the upcoming matches.
Vijay also acknowledged the contributions made by fellow team members, Suresh Raina, Hussey and Dhoni. He said, “I was hitting the ball well, I just wanted to stay there and keep going. Suresh, Hussey and Dhoni did really well too.”
Hussey opened alongside Vijay and the duo put on a solid stand of 77 runs. Hussey was the aggressive partner in their stand and his innings of 46 runs included eight boundaries at a strike rate of 153.33.
Suresh Raina, who batted at number three, continued where Hussey left and added 58 runs alongside Vijay.
The real onslaught began when CSK leader, Dhoni, came in to bat after Vijay fell. It was due to the combined efforts of the top four batsmen from CSK that the side reached 196.
Their bowlers successfully defended the total, dismissing the Rajasthan Royals for 133 within 19.3 overs.
Tags: