Super Kings reach Final

Ranchi

Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra shone with the ball as Chennai Super Kings produced a fine bowling display to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to a modest 139 for eight in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, yesterday.

Nehra (3/28) picked up three crucial wickets to dismantle RCB's innings. He was ably supported by Ravichandran Ashwin (1/13), Mohit Sharma (1/22), Dwayne Bravo (1/21) and Suresh Raina (1/36).

Chris Gayle top-scored for RCB with a unfamiliar 41 off 43 balls which was studded with two fours and three sixes.

Young Sarfaraz Khan (31 off 21 balls) played short little cameo towards the end to give RCB bowlers something to defend. Dinesh Karthik (28 off 26) also played a good hand but just when his team need him, the wicket-keeper batsman perished in search of quick runs.

Sent into bat, Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli made a steady start to RCB's innings on a slow and difficult pitch.

Gayle smashed Nehra for a six in the second ball off the innings to make his intentions clear.

In his next over, Nehra once again was at the receiving end, this time Kohli smacked the left-arm pacer for a four and six in consecutive balls.

But Nehra had the last laugh as he struck twice in his next over to rattle RCB's innings.

First Nehra removed Kohli, who flicked the first delivery off the fifth over straight to Mohit at short fine leg and then four balls later he dismissed in-form AB de Villiers.

De Villers was adjudged LBW after he missed an inswinger that struck his back pad but TV replays showed the ball pitched just outside the leg stump.

The twin blow dealt a severe blow to RCB's innings as even big-hitting Gayle found it difficult to rotate the scoreboard, leave aside hitting big shots.

Last match's half-centurion Mandeep Singh failed to rescue his side today and was the next to depart, caught by Mike Hussey off Ashwin as RCB slumped to 36 for three.

In a real spot of bother, Gayle and new man in Karthik joined hands and tried to resurrect RCB's innings with a 46-run fourth wicket stand. The duo found runs hard to come by but stuck in there and waited for their opportunity.

After a lull of few overs, Karthik finally opened up, hitting Raina for back-to-back fours in the 12th over.

Gayle was not to be left behind as he struck Raina for consecutive sixes in his next over. But Raina took his revenge a ball later when the West Indian top-edged a pull shot straight to the bowler while going for too many big shots.

But Sarfaraz was not to be bogged down as he welcomed Ravindra Jadeja with conesecutive fours in the 16th over.

In the next over Karthik was holed out at the deep by Mohit as Nehra picked up his third scalp of the day.

Sarfaraz then used his long handle to pick up a few boundaries while David Wiese (12) failed to capitalise on a life as RCB finished on 139.