Dec 13: Skipper Marvan came up with an unbeaten defiant knock of 64 guiding Delhi Jets to score a comfortable six-wicket win over Chennai Superstars to enter the semi-finals of the inaugural ICL Twenty20 tournament in Panchkula on Wednesday.
Delhi Jets chased the target of 175 runs after electing to field. Both the openers Taufeeq Umar (20) and Monish Mishra (37) gave the Jets a rollicking start adding 62 runs in just 31 balls for the opening partnership.
Atapattu joined Taufeeq after Mishra's dismissal and played some free-flowing shots all over the park. The former Sri Lankan skipper scored 64 in just 43 balls and was studded with four boundaries and two sixes. He was awarded man of the match for his great effort.
Chennai Superstars had a surprise defeat, which is already made it to the semis, after successively winning their previous three matches. Their bowlers excluding Thiru Kumaran, who took two wickets giving away 31 runs, did not prove any threat to Jets batsmen.
Earlier, the Superstars started their innings on a promising note too. Ian Harvey (30 of 20 balls) was going good at the opening slot before being run out. It was basically the middle-order collapse that affected the chances of Jets posting a 200-plus target.
SJ Srivastava proved quite expensive for the Jets, as he gave away 47 runs in four overs while speedster Abid Nabi was also hammered by giving away 34 in his three overs.
Delhi Jets’ coach Madan Lal after winning the match said, "When the tournament started we were under dogs, and we were never considered in the title hunt. But now we are in the last four, so it is great. In Twenty-20 the match things can change instantly. Our aim will be to reach the finals.”
In the first semi-final Kolkata Tigers will take on Chennai Superstars, while in the second semi-final Chandigarh Lions will fight it out with Delhi Jets.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Superstars: 174 for 6 in 20 overs (Chris Read 37, Ian Harvey 30, R Satish 29, Ali Murtaza 2 for 24)
Delhi Jets: 178 for 4 in 19.2 overs (Marvan Atapattu 64 n.o, Mohnish Mishra 37, T. Kumaran 4 for 31)
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