Port Elizabeth: Opener Murali Vijay's breezy 73 went in vain as Victoria Bushrangers snatched a dramatic win over Chennai Super Kings in a keenly contested Champions League Twenty20 Group A match that had to be decided via the Super Over here on Saturday.
Riding on Vijay's 53-ball innings, Chennai Super Kings posted 162 for six in 20 overs but then Victoria Bushrangers also managed the exact score and the encounter had to be stretched into the Super Over.
With 12 runs required from the last over to win, Victoria lost two wickets in the form of Clint McKay (10) and Dirk Nannes (0) as medium pacer Suresh Raina scalped two wickets in successive deliveries.
However, Raina could not stop the Australian side from equalling CSK score although they lost the 10th wicket in the form of Bryce McGain (0) in the last ball of the 20th over.
In the Super Over, Aaron Finch and David Hussey hammered spinner R Ashwin to gather 23 runs from the six balls with the help of three huge sixes.
In reply, Vijay and Suresh Raina could manage only 13 runs off McKay.
Earlier, Chasing 163 to win, Victoria started on an attacking note with opener Finch taking on Chennai bowling attack head on.
23-year-old Finch, who cracked four fours and three sixes during his brief but pacy innings, struck two successive fours in the third over off paceman Doug Bollinger.
Chennai got their first success when Ashwin removed dangerous looking Finch in the fourth over. Finch mistimed a flick, the ball ballooned towards short cover and Ashwin took a diving catch after a short sprint.
The Australian side suffered another loss in the fifth over when Brad Hodge (6) fell prey to Bollinger and returned to the dugout, leaving Victoria at 49 for two.
But from this condition captain Matthew Wade (31) and captain David Hussey took the initiative away from the Chennai camp with their attacking performance.
David scored 51 off 45 balls with the help of four fours and a six.
The duo badly battered medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji in the seventh over and took 17 runs off the six balls with the help of four fours before rain interrupted the game for a few minutes.
Victoria was comfortably placed at 91 for two after the 10th over.
But legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was the man who then changed the colour of the match by scalping two wickets in successive deliveries in the 12th over in the form of Wade and Andrew McDonald (0).
Raina then bowled out Rob Quiney (10) in the 18th over and then claimed the wicket of John Hastings (1) just three balls later.
From that point of time the match became a close affair and after the departure of David in the 19th over, the match was hanging on a balance.
For Chennai, Raina scalped four wickets for 24 runs while Doug Bollinger and Muralitharan took one apiece.
Batting first, Chennai played a strategic game against the Australian domestic champions and were off to a steady start with Michael Hussey (25) and Vijay producing a 68-run opening partnership.
Vijay, who struck five fours and four sixes, completed his half-century in the 13th over, stealing a single off medium pacer John Hastings.
Both the batsmen started cautiously on a placid St George's Park pitch and did not face much problem in tackling the Victoria bowling attack.
Michael, who cracked two fours during his 28-ball stay, and Vijay showed good understanding as they kept stealing ones and twos by finding the gaps rather than going for big shots in the initial overs.
The Indian Premier League team suffered their first loss when Michael fell to leg-spinner McGain in the penultimate delivery of the 10th over.
Michael tried to smash a turning delivery over the deep extra cover region but could not time it properly and Aaron Finch successfully pouched an overhead catch at long-off.
Raina (10) then joined Vijay in the middle but could not give him company for long.
Raina, who had cracked a boundary in the previous over off Hastings, failed to pick a McKay slower and went for an ambitious shot, but missed the line as the ball crashed onto the stumps.
However, unmoved by the two quick dismissals, Vijay kept his cool and cracked a huge six off McKay in the same over.
After 15 overs, Chennai were 116 for two with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22 off 18) giving Vijay company.
Vijay got a life in 16th over when Peter Siddle took a return catch on his run-up but umpire called it a no-ball.
Siddle got the punishment in the very next ball, which Vijay picked early and cracked a beautiful six off it over the extra cover region.
But Chennai suffered a big loss when Hastings removed Vijay in the 17th over as his mistimed pull shot landed in Rob Quiney's hand at long on region.
Dhoni fell prey to Hastings in the 19th over.
S Badrinath (1) also returned to the dugout in the last over but not before the team reached the 150-run mark.
To the end, Justin Kemp (12 off seven, not out) and Ashwin (4 n.o.) added some quick runs on the board.
For Victoria, McKay and Hastings bagged two wickets apiece, giving away 33 and 22 runs respectively. PTI
