Suresh Raina smashed a tournament-high 94 not out on Friday to lead Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings into the final of the Champions League Twenty20.
Raina stroked five fours and six sixes in his brilliant 48-ball innings, as Chennai beat fellow Indians Royal Challengers Bangalore by 52 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-shortened semi-final at Kingsmead.
“It’s a great feeling to be in the final,” said Raina, whose score bettered Victoria batsman Aaron Finch’s 93 not out. “I knew before the game that they would come hard for me, so I thought: ‘Just go for it.’ It’s a big thing to play in the final, it was our goal and I am very happy.”
In today’s final in Johannesburg, Chennai will play the winner of the second semi-final between South Australia, the only unbeaten team in the event, and South Africa’s Warriors.
Raina’s ruthless display in Durban was largely responsible for Chennai’s daunting 174-4 off 17 overs in the weather-affected game.
He scored more than half his team’s runs and passed Finch’s score off the final ball of the innings when he pulled a ball away for four down to wide long-on.
Chasing a revised total of 176 for victory, Bangalore managed just 123-9 in 16.2 overs. Fast bowler Dale Steyn was injured while fielding and did not bat.
Only opener Manish Pandey provided any resistance for Bangalore with a defiant 52 from 44 balls that included four fours and two sixes.
Left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger took 3-27 and spinner Muttiah Muralitharan 2-38 for Chennai.
Raina had shared an 81-run partnership with Murali Vijay (41) for the second wicket, which came off just 48 balls, as the Indian pair propelled Chennai to victory in the tournament’s first knockout match.
“Raina’s batting, he made it look easy and it wasn’t so easy in the middle,” Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said. “After Dale Steyn went down, they were short of a bowler and on this pitch it can make a big difference and I thought we capitalized.”
Steyn was one of two Bangalore fielders to be injured taking catches.
The South African fast bowler was taken to hospital for tests on a neck injury and suspected concussion when he fell backward to hold a brilliant catch to dismiss Chennai opener Mike Hussey.
The back of his head slammed into the turf as he fell and he lay motionless for minutes afterwards as teammates and then medical staff surrounded him.
Virat Kohli aggravated a back injury diving forward in the outfield to catch a mistimed Albie Morkel pull shot and also left the field.
Earlier, a two-hour rain delay had halted Chennai’s innings after just 17 balls in front of a sellout crowd and meant the game was reduced to the 17 overs per side.
The persistent rain caused a nervous wait for Bangalore, who would have been eliminated on their previous record in the tournament if the game had been abandoned. Instead, it was Raina who settled it for Chennai.
“Too many runs on the board and Dale Steyn got injured, so that was critical for us,” Bangalore captain Anil Kumble said. “We had to rely on other bowlers to fill in, but great knock from Suresh [Raina].”
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