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Ahmedabad Rockets v Chennai Superstars, ICL, Gurgaon
Arnold and Shabbir star as Superstars win
Cricinfo staff
March 27, 2008
Chennai Superstars 161 for 5 (Arnold 69, Badani 45, Gillespie 3-25) beat Ahmedabad Rockets 139 (Sriram 30, Shabbir 4-20) by 22 runs
Scorecard
The Chennai Superstars inflicted a fifth consecutive defeat on the Ahmedabad Rockets and moved closer to a semi-final spot with a 22-run win in Gurgaon.
Stuart Law, the Superstars captain, decided to bat after winning the toss, and two left-handers helped his team post a challenging score. The Superstars were in a spot of bother at 19 for 2, and after Law departed with the score on 48 came a 112-run fourth-wicket stand between former internationals Russel Arnold and Hemang Badani.
The stand was only the fifth above 100 in the tournament, and steered the Superstars to a score of 161. Arnold's 51-ball 69, was supported by Badani's near run-a-ball 45 as they batted almost till the end. The two came together in the sixth over, and lasted till the 20th; Jason Gillespie removed them both to finish with figures of 3 for 25 off his four, but it had perhaps come a bit too late.
Chasing 162, the Rockets were going nowhere, down to 39 for 3 after 7.1 overs. The middle order raised hopes of a fightback, but Shabbir Ahmed got rid of Sridharan Sriram, who top scored for the Rockets with 30, before scalping two tailenders to finish with 4 for 20. The Rockets were all out for 139 in 19.4 overs, and will play their final game against the undefeated Lahore Badshahs in Hyderabad on Sunday.
The Superstars, who won the ICL's inaugural Twenty20 tournament held last year, have completed all their seven games, and will have to await the results of the coming league matches.
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