Chennai Superstars complete six-run victory

Kolkata Tigers captain Craig McMillan scored 25 off 21 balls © Cricinfo Ltd

The Chennai duo of R Sathish and V Saravanan blasted 44 runs in 4.4 overs to boost the Superstars before Shabbir Ahmed and Ian Harvey, two international imports, sealed the six-run win against Kolkata Tigers. The second Twenty20 game of the ICL followed a similar pattern to the first and it came down to a tight final-over finish.

Craig McMillan's decision to field was backed up by Eklak Ahmid's two early wickets but a steadying partnership between Stuart Law and Russel Arnold set up the total. The Superstars were in trouble when both fell in quick succession, followed by Hemang Badani falling to a lame chip shot, but Sathish and Saravanan showed their value at the death. Both cracked a couple of sixes apiece to boost the total to 140 in the last four overs.

The Kolkata Tigers' chase suffered some early hiccups, with Shabbir striking two early blows, but the Subhomoy Das and McMillan led the recovery. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, with a fiery 21-ball 30, showed why he's rated so highly in domestic circles but the Tigers were constantly behind the run-rate. D Tamilkumaran, the medium-pacer, extracted good bounce from the surface - his two important wickets pegged the Tigers back further - and the Superstars could then rely on Harvey's slower balls to wrap up the match.

Just like yesterday, the fielding standards were outstanding. Jhunjhunwala risked a serious injury when he dived on the rough patch at short fine leg, latching on to a chip from Arnold, and Lance Klusener timed his jump perfectly to complete a one-handed take off Badani. Hemanth Kumar's superbly-judged take at long-off, when he held on to one heading for six, ended Das' innings and Sathish made several stunning stops at point.

Expectedly, the turnout wasn't as impressive as last night. Barely 1000 landed up to watch the game, one which also saw film star Yana Gupta perform during the break. Spectators may flock in for the second game, though, one where Brian Lara's Mumbai Champs take on Inzamam-ul-Haq's Hyderabad Heroes.