By IANS
Panchkula (Haryana) : The Chennai Superstars pulled it off when it mattered the most as they won the finals of the inaugural Indian Cricket League (ICL) Twenty20 championship here Sunday evening, beating the local favourites Chandigarh Lions by 12 runs.
The Superstars also took away the winners’ prize of Rs.39 million ($1 million).
Put into bat by the Lions who won the toss at the Tau Devi Lal cricket stadium, the Superstars put up a score of 155 runs in their 20 overs, losing 8 wickets.
Opener Ian Harvey, who has been among runs in this championship, gave them a good start, scoring 36 runs from 31 balls. Captain Stuart Law contributed with a 28-ball 34 runs.
In reply, the Lions kept losing wickets at regular intervals after their opening batsmen Imran Farhat and Hamish Marshall failed to give them a good start. Tejinder Pal Singh put up a fight with 35 runs from 33 balls. He top-scored for the Lions.
As the match seemed drifting away from the fold of the Lions, Andrew Hall and Sarabjit Singh put up a fight, scoring 30 not out runs from 27 balls and 28 runs from 18 balls respectively, but failed to finish it off for their team. Skipper Chris Cairns could not do much Sunday, scoring just 5 runs from 10 balls.
The Lions could muster 143 runs from their 20 overs, losing 8 wickets.
Player of the Match, former Pakistan bowler Shabbir Ahmed took 4 wickets, including a hat-trick, giving away 23 runs.
The Chandigarh Lions ended up runners-up, picking up their cheque of Rs.19 million.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Superstars: 155 for 8 wickets in 20 overs (Ian Harvey 36 runs from 31 balls, Stuart Law 34 runs from 28 balls)
Chandigarh Lions: 143 for 8 wickets in 20 overs (Tejinder Pal Singh 35 runs from 33 balls, Andrew Hall 30 not out from 27 balls, Shabbir Ahmed 4/23)