MATT THE BAT STANDS TALL !

Chennai Super Kings’ bulwark Matthew Hayden played a couple of gears lower than usual and yet walked away with the man of the match prize as he took his team over the line against Mumbai Indians in the DLF Indian Premier League at the St George’s Park here on Saturday.

The seven-wicket verdict meant that with 15 points from 12 games Chennai Super Kings joined Delhi Daredevils as the first two sides to ensure themselves a place in the semifinals. And it also meant that with 11 points from 13 games, Mumbai Indians have joined Kolkata Knight Riders as the teams that are not in the semifinals race.

Hayden made a half-century that was hardly in keeping with his image of a big hitter but it was the most effective innings on a sluggish track. The fact that he struck his first four after facing 33 balls is ample evidence of the fact that his start was scratchy but he would be relieved that his early contest with Lasith Malinga was interrupted after just one over.

He accorded Malinga a great deal of respect when the Mumbai Indians bowled with the new ball and with fire; Similarly, he played off-spinner Harbhajan Singh with care in his first two overs and would have been delighted that his contest with Mumbai Indians’ two best bowlers resumed only in the death overs.

Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar encouraged Dhawal Kulkarni to bowl four overs but his faith was not justified since the young paceman was expensive. Unlike Chennai Super Kings who challenged Mumbai Indians with 11 overs of spin, Tendulkar used just eight overs of slow bowling from Harbhajan Singh, JP Duminy and Chetanya Nanda.