Chandigarh crash out with 39-run loss

Ahmedabad Rockets 197 (Goodwin 61, Sanjeev 32, Ablish 4-35) beat Chandigarh Lions 158 for 9 (Uniyal 45, Karanveer 42, Gillespie 2-13) by 39 runs
Scorecard

Chandigarh Lions needed a big win to boost their semi-final hopes, but once they conceded 197 runs against Ahmedabad Rockets, their campaign was all but over. Their top order crumbled in the chase, and had it not been for a few handy lower-order contributions, the margin of defeat would have been much higher.

Ahmedabad's openers have been the engine of their batting line-up, and they revved it up in their final game. Ryan Campbell hit five fours and a six in his 12-ball 28, putting on 44 with Murray Goodwin in 2.5 overs. Goodwin and Damien Martyn build on that early momentum, and Ahmedabad went along at more than ten an over. Martyn played second-fiddle to Goodwin, who was bowled by Rajesh Sharma for a 31-ball 61. The middle- and lower-orders, however, failed to carry on with the momentum, and though Chandigarh added 79 in 8.5 overs after Goodwin fell, they were bowled out for 197. Love Ablish grabbed three wickets in the 20th over, finishing with figures of 4 for 35.

Chandigarh had a disastrous start - by the third over they were reduced to 12 for 3. Jason Gillespie took two wickets and later strikes from left-arm spinners Sumit Kalia and S Sriram reduced them to 37 for 5. Captain Andrew Hall was left to rebuild the innings; he could manage only 22 and was the sixth wicket to fall with the score on 58. Karanveer Singh and Amit Uniyal revived the innings with brisk 40s, scoring seven fours and seven sixes in total, but it came too late to force a win.