Real emotional moment, says Dhoni after Chennai are crowned Champions League Kings
Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey cracked a sparkling half century each as Chennai Super Kings were today crowned the Champions League Twenty20 winners with their eight-wicket victory over Warriors in the grand finale here today.
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Vijay (58 off 53 balls), who was let off when on 34, cracked his third half century of the tournament while the other opener Hussey played sheet anchor and remained not out on 51 as Chennai chased down the small target of 129 with one over to spare.
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Earlier, spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (3/16) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/16) shared five wickets as Chennai restricted Warriors to 128 for seven after the South African champion side elected to bat at the New Wanderers Stadium.
If skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni left the dressing room at the Wanderers here last night misty-eyed, blame it on the auction system of the Indian Premier League.
Chennai were runners-up in the first ipl in 2008. The following year, they lost in the semis, but were champions
earlier this year.
He spoke about how it was important to get the team ready for one last championship effort.
"We had to put in a lot of effort to create a dressing room atmosphere in which the senior players and youngsters were comfortable. We created an atmosphere where we helped each other perform. Ending it on a good note meant a lot to all of us."u00a0
Driving home the point about how nothing came easy and how they had to lift their game, the Chennai captain admitted that fielding was an area of concern. Here's how they overcame the problem: "In the IPL, we were not the best fielding side. This meant the batsmen and bowlers had to put in more effort as compared to the other teams, but we have improved over a period. The better fielders are putting in more effort. A captain is as good as his team. You channelise everything and use your resources to solve all problems that erupt on the field. It feels good to lead Chennai Super Kings," he said.
Dhoni felt it was special to be on the field when the winning runs were hit. "It is special because this is a big
tournament.
"At the start of the event, a lot was spoken about the conditions which we would confront here and the kind of attack other teams have.
"Half-centurion Mike Hussey (the other not out batsman) played a brilliant innings. It was important to stick around at the other end while the new batsman could attack from the other side. It's a good feeling to score the winning runs, but Hussey deserves credit too."
Spin bowlers R Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan set up the win as the Warriors were restricted to 128 for seven.
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