Dhoni won the toss and stuck with the formula that has served his side so well in the past, post a total and then look to strangle the opposition with tight bowling. They did the first half nicely, posting what was probably a par score on a flat track of 155/5, but may well feel they should have got more given their wickets in hand. The Chennai openers, Vijay and du Plessis (43 from 33), made a steady start and it took them until the 4th over to really get going. Du Plessis started this tournament as cover for the absent Hussey but now, as holder of the orange cap, he will be tough to drop as he hit Nehra for 18 including a sweetly struck straight 6. An out of sorts Vijay fell to the first ball after the powerplay and this brought about a good period for Pune. Both Raina (20) and Dhoni (26) got starts but couldn't get going as PWI were good both with the ball and in the field. It is important that the captain leads by example and his fielding was much improved from their last outing and this visibly lifted the side, with Steve Smith as energetic as usual. It took another good innings from Jadeja (44 from 26) to get CSK to the crucial 150 mark but the late kick never really came. The last 7 overs went for just 55 runs when at 100/3, with their big hitting players in the shed, they could have looking at 170 or even more. Pune's spinners were impressive, the experienced Karthik's 3 overs cost just 18 runs and Rahul Sharma proved that last year's impressive IPL was no fluke, his Kumble like leg spin grabbing him 2-16. Pune will have been pleased with their efforts in the field having restricted the champions to a gettable total and CSK will know they could have got more on a good deck.
Pune started quickly, with Uthappa promoted to open with Ryder and Ganguly dropping down to 3, as they reached 56/1 at the end of the powerplay, knowing that scoring early against the quicker bowlers is vital against CSK. Uthappa fell to a run out, not the first nor the last time Ryder will be involved in a run out this year, having already smashed Morkel for a maximum over mid-wicket. Ganguly was then ran out attempting a 2nd after a mis-field, ignoring the age old adage, as a result of the pressure built up by Ashwin (4-0-19-0) and Raina (4-0-22-0) in a 4 over spell that cost just 16 runs. As a result, the match was very much in the balance at the half way mark with PWI on 72/2. Ryder's innings (73* from 56 and MoM) was a rare display of maturity from the man who so often makes starts without going on, usually throwing his wicket away needlessly. Not only did he put away the poor balls, but also looked to the play the anchor role and knew that he had to see his side through to the end. It was a highly tense atmosphere, highlighted on separate occasions. Firstly as Ryder snapped at Samuels who appeared to be giving him an order from the dressing room, before showing his back to Samuels whilst shaking his head furiously as the West Indian walked back having been bowled for a scratchy 8 runs. Then, later on, as Ashwin looked to unsettle the new batsman Steve Smith as he stopped in his run up and threatened a run out, Ashwin for some reason strangely aggressive even though replays showed that the Aussie hadn't even left his crease.
Smith came out to partner Ryder still needing a stiff 66 from 44 balls as the game was set up to be a cracker. The big man played calmly to get PWI over the line, but a brilliant cameo from Smith took the limelight. He heaved Raina over the leg side to collect a 6 off just his 3rd ball at the crease and he continued from there. Smith hit at least 2 boundaries in each of the last 3 overs to make light work of scoring quick runs at the back end of the innings which CSK's world class finishers had earlier struggled to do. Smith has proved a brilliant player for PWI when coming in late on and played impossibly calmly in a nerve wracking situation, he clipped the first ball of the last over to the fine leg boundary and carved the 2nd over the off side for 6 to pick up the 10 required in just 2 balls to complete an excellent win for Pune. His 44* not from just 22 balls came under immense pressure and he looks a better signing every time he takes to the field. Its hard to pinpoint exactly how Pune have turned their fortunes this time round, Ganguly's captaincy must have played a key role, but Smith's constant enthusiasm and fearless batting cannot be underestimated. Dhoni may well regret his decision to give inexperienced Mahesh the last over, with Bravo still having one left, but Smith had just hit him for plenty in the 18th over so it could have gone either way.
It was yet another thrilling game in this year's edition that has already offered up plenty of them! Chennai are now under plenty of pressure to pick up some wins, 4 points from 5 games is no disaster but they are clearly under performing given their past record. On the other hand, the PWI camp will be buoyant as they find themselves top of the points table despite not having the star-studded line ups that some of the richer sides possess. The underdogs continue to upset the odds and really are a treat to watch, keep it up Pune! I'd previously been calling for Ryder to be dropped, with either Wright or Iqbal taking his place as opener, shows what I know!
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