Chennai Super Kings were rewarded richly for fielding three spinners on a sluggish wicket, beating the Deccan Chargers by a comprehensive 38 runs in their IPL-3 semifinal here on Thursday. After being let of the hook by Deccan Chargers to post 142, Chennai showed exemplary discipline with the ball and great commitment on the field to bowl out the defending champions for a mere 104 and ensure their entry to the final, where they meet Mumbai Indians on Sunday.

The target was manageable but a decent start was mandatory. R. Ashwin and Doug Bollinger though denied the Chargers with purposeful first spells. Only 23 runs came off the first six overs to make the chase difficult. Adam Gilchrist struggling to get his timing right, managed a six off Ashwin and a boundary off Bollinger but the methods were hardly convincing. Herschelle Gibbs, trying to pick the spinners off the wicket failed to accelerate.

Chennai kept chipping away with quiet overs. Gilchrist’s flick was snapped up by S. Anirudha at mid-wicket to set of a slump.
The asking rate was taking a steep climb but Gibbs failed to find a way out. Rohit Sharma walked in with a huge responsibility but hit one straight down the throat of Muttiah Muralitharan off Albie Morkel, checking his shot at the last second. With the back of the top-order broken, all was left to Andrew Symonds.

Gibbs was castled by Shadab Jakati and the spinner also accounted for Monish Mishra who played all over the ball to be stumped.
The last five overs required 62 and Symonds succumbed to pressure that signalled the end of all realistic chances for Chargers.

Earlier on a track that demanded tactical acumen, Gilchrist pulled the right cards. Forced to bowl first, Chargers opened with Symonds who responded with a clear reading of the conditions.

Seam-up to M. Vijay and off-spin to Matthew Hayden was the perfect plan. After Rudra Pratap Singh and Sumanth put down sitters Symonds showed the way as Hayden’s poor run continued. Chargers were successful in taking the pace of the ball and Harris turned out to be the most successful bowler with figures of 3/29.

SCOREBOARD
Chennai Super Kings
Murali Vijay lbw Ryan Harris 15, Matthew Hayden c Andrew Symonds b Ryan Harris 8, Suresh Raina c Adam Gilchrist b Andrew Symonds 2, Subramaniam Badrinath st Adam Gilchrist b Rudra Pratap Singh 37, Mahender Singh Dhoni c Rohit Sharma b Harmeet Singh 30, Albie Morkel c Andrew Symonds b Pragyan Ojha 4, Srikkanth Anirudha c Herschelle Gibbs b Ryan Harris 24, Ravichandran Ashwin not out 6, Shadab Jakati not out 0.
Extras (b-8, lb-5, w-3) 16
Total (in 20 overs) 142/7

FoW: 1-12, 2-25, 3-29, 4-81, 5-96, 6-117, 7-137.

Bowling: Andrew Symonds 4-0-18-1, Ryan Harris 4-0-29-3, Rudra Pratap Singh 4-0-33-1, Pragyan Ojha 4-0-27-1, Harmeet Singh 4-0-22-1.

Deccan chargers
Adam Gilchrist c Srikkanth Anirudha b Doug Bollinger 15, Herschelle Gibbs b Shadab Jakati 18, Tirumalasetti Suman c Suresh Raina b Doug Bollinger 4, Rohit Sharma c Muttiah Muralitharan b Albie Morkel 2, Andrew Symonds c Murali Vijay b Ravichandran Ashwin 23, Monish Mishra st Mahender Singh Dhoni b Shadab Jakati 2, Bodapati Sumanth b Doug Bollinger 16, Ryan Harris c Murali Vijay b Doug Bollinger 15, Harmeet Singh lbw Muttiah Muralitharan 0, Rudra Pratap Singh not out 0, Pragyan Ojha c Doug Bollinger b Suresh Raina 1.
Extras (lb-2, w-6) 8
Total (all out in 19.2 overs) 104

FoW: 1-19, 2-23, 3-31, 4-48, 5-54, 6-82, 7-103, 8-103, 9-103.

Bowling: Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-14-1, Doug Bollinger 4-1-13-4, Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-16-1, Albie Morkel 3-0-15-1, Shadab Jakati 4-0-44-2, Suresh Raina 0.2-0-0-1.