Mushtaq A Subhani
PUNE: New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder and Australia’s Steven Smith guided Pune Warriors to an easy seven-wicket victory with four balls to spare in a Twenty20 match of the fifth Indian Premier League here at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing a modest total of 156, Pune Warriors achieved the target in 19.2 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Ryder smashed an unbeaten 73 from 56 balls with seven fours and a six while Smith hit 44 not out off 22 balls with four boundaries and three sixes. Both added 66 runs for an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings batted first after their captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni won the toss and made 155 for five in the allotted 20 overs.
Main scorers were India’s Ravindra Jadeja (44) and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis (43). Both struck two sixes each.
For Pune Warriors, leg-break bowler Rahul Sharma claimed two wickets for 16 runs.
Pakistan’s first sports tv channel Geo Super televised this match live from Pune.