Durban, April 15 (Inditop) Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina struck half-centuries as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) warmed up for the Indian Premier League with a 41-run victory over South African Twenty20 side Nashua Dolphins.
CSK opener Patel (51 off 36) and Raina (70 off 41) took the team to a challenging 180 for seven before spinners Muttiah Muralithran (3-32) and R. Ashwin (2-26) packed off Nashua Dolpihns for 139 with three balls to spare at Kingsmead stadium Tuesday.
CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. They lost Australian Matthew Hayden with 10 runs on the board before Patel and Raina stood strong for a 120 run partnership. Patel hit four fours while Raina’s quickfire knock included eight fours and two sixes.
After Patel went down to Arun Karthik, a ‘loaned’ bowler from CSK to the Dolphins, the rest of the lot struggled against the spinners and the slowness of the surface. It took some lusty blows from George Bailey (19) to drag the team to 180.
The Nashua Dolphins lost wickets at regular interval and were never in the hunt. The top half caved in without puting any fight and Dolphins were left reeling at 61 for five.
CSK bowlers had an easy day with Sudeep Tyagi and Manpreet Goni impressing with the pace and lift off the deck. Joginder Sharma looked the best with the difficult length and the late movement. The spin duo of Muralitharan and Ashwin got maximum purchase from the wicket.
It was CSK’s Karthik (30 off 26) who showed some resistance along with D. Miller (16 off 13 balls).
Last years IPL runners up CSK will take on Mumbai Indians in their first match April 18.
rounak