For teams looking to improve their Net Run Rate (NRR) to qualify, chase is a preferred option.
There is a perception that while chasing it is easier to control the NRR equation better. Earlier in the day, Trinidad and Tobago saw Mumbai Indians bludgeoning their way into semifinals on the same pitch while chasing the target. Though T&T's situation wasn't as difficult as Mumbai's — they could do with a narrow defeat of less than five runs as well — the Caribbean side decided to take the same path to semifinals.
After winning the toss in this crucial match, T&T invited Chennai Super Kings to bat and set a target for them. Credit goes to their bowlers that they restricted CSK, one of the best batting line-up in this edition of ClT20, to just 118. Their batsmen kept up the good work by overhauling the target in just 15.1 overs at the loss of two wickets.
Their eight-wicket win at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday not only helped them seal a semi-final berth but also top the points table in Group B. It means T&T will now take on Mumbai in the second semifinal at the Feroz Shah Kotla here and CSK will be travelling to Jaipur to play Rajasthan in the first semi-final.
Dhoni-led CSK played an unusual game on Wednesday. The intent and the fighting spirit, for which they are known, were completely missing. That they had already qualified for the semi-finals could have been the reason behind Dhoni's decision to shuffle the batting-order a bit. He promoted himself up, probably to give himself some time in the middle ahead of the crucial matches. But the move didn't work as Chennai's batting crumbled against inspired T&T bowlers.
Only three players could reach the double-digit score. For the first time CSK got all out in the group stage. However, Dhoni continued his experiments while defending the target too. Mohit Sharma, a regular new-ball bowler for CSK, didn't even bowl a single delivery in the match. Instead, Ravichandran Ashwin opened the bowling — first time in the tournament.
For T&T, lendl Simmons did the trick. First he took two important wickets of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina with his gentle medium pacers and then took his team to victory door before getting out on 63 off 41 balls. He was adjudged man-of-the-match. T&T are the only team from outside the Indian Premier league (IPl) to qualify for the knockout stage and justified the direct entry given to them despite not being from the three countries who have stakes in the ClT20.
Brief Scores
Chennai Super Kings: 118 (Suresh Raina 38, Emrit 3-21) lost to Trinidad &Tobago: 119 for 2 (Simmons 63, lewis 38) by eight wickets.