Johannesburg: Royal Challengers Bangalore upset last year’s finalist Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the second IPL semifinal at the Wanderers on Saturday.

The Challengers will meet Deccan Chargers in the final at the same venue on Sunday.

Challengers and Chargers had finished seventh and eighth in IPL’s first season.

Pursuing 147, the Bangalore team reached the target with seven deliveries to spare.

Even as Super Kings clawed its way back in the last phase of the match, the batting side found men who could deliver the big blows at the crunch.

Ross Taylor swung Suresh Raina for a six over mid-wicket in the 17th over. Then, Virat Kohli, jumping down the track, sent the ball soaring over the wide long-on boundary in the same over.

Off the fifth ball of the 18th, Kohli used his feet against Muttiah Muralitharan to strike sweet and straight for the maximum. The first delivery of the 19th over, bowled by Jacob Oram, was dismissed over the square-leg ropes by Taylor.

Pandey flourishes

Earlier, the young Manish Pandey — adjudged Man of the Match — provided his side early momentum with his eye and enterprise.

However, Super Kings did strike early from the other end. Jacques Kallis twice smacked the expensive Manpreet Gony to the point fence but was consumed by a delivery that seamed away in the same over. Pinch-hitter van der Merwe was reprieved when Muttiah Muralitharan put down a skier but paceman Albie Morkel soon got his man — with a yorker.

Pandey was joined by the experienced Rahul Dravid. Apart from being fluent in the region between point and cover, Pandey connected well in front of his left pad to collect runs on the leg-side.

Dravid in good touch

Dravid signalled his intentions with a classical on-drive off Jakati. A delectable flick off Morkel reflected Dravid’s class. A back-footed punch off Jakati was of the highest quality. At the ten-over mark, Royal Challengers required 65 runs in 60 deliveries.

Dravid whipped Lakshmipathy Balaji to the mid-wicket fence in the first over after the strategic break. Super Kings needed a breakthrough.

An arm-ball from Jakati castled Pandey (48, 35b, 7x4) to hand Super Kings with a life-line. And Muralithran, operating from round-the-wicket, won a leg-before decision against Dravid (44, 39b, 6x4) on the sweep.

But Kohli and Taylor gave the side its seventh win in nine matches under Kumble.

Parthiv Patel fired Super Kings to a blistering start, but Royal Challengers fought back well to restrict a powerful batting unit to 146 for five.

Royal Challengers turned in a disciplined bowling and fielding performance on a surface that tended to slow down.

Parthiv sizzled after Kumble opted to field. The little left-hander struck Kallis for three boundaries in the latter’s first over — a pull, a cut and a steer over the slip.

Even as his accomplished opening partner Matthew Hayden was feeling his way into the innings, Parthiv cut loose from the other end. When paceman Praveen Kumar pitched one short, Parthiv responded with a pull and followed this with a scorching cover-drive.

Medium-pacer Vinay Kumar was lofted and swung for boundaries by the rampaging Parthiv. Kumble’s initial plans were coming unstuck.

The in-form Hayden too got into the act, flicking Kallis handsomely to the fence. And the big left-hander picked Vinay Kumar from outside the off-stump to whip him over the mid-wicket ropes.

Reward

However, Hayden (26, 19b, 2x4, 1x6) attempted to clear mid-wicket again and was held by Manish Pandey off Vinay Kumar, who changed his pace. The opening pair had put on 61 in seven overs. Parthiv (36, 27b, 7x4) fell soon, being at the wrong end of a debatable leg-before decision — a portion of the ball appeared to land out-side the leg-stump — off Kallis. The Bangalore side had fought back.

Dhoni, promoting himself to No. 3, was joined by Suresh Raina.

Dhoni rotated the strike while Raina went for the weighty strokes.

Raina went on one knee to strike Vinay Kumar over covers for a boundary. The left-hander, then, pulled the same bowler over mid-wicket.However, Raina (20 off 19 balls) perished while attempting to strike across a delivery held back by Praveen Kumar to send the ball ballooning to ‘keeper Mark Boucher. This was a crucial break-through for Royal Challengers.

Sluggish pitch

With the pitch appearing to be increasingly sluggish, Royal Challengers pegged back the run-rate before the left-handed Albie Morkel dismissed Kumble ruthlessly into the stands beyond mid-wicket.

Royal Challengers clawed its way back once again. Dhoni (28 off 30 balls) did not connect properly an attempted huge blow off the steady left-arm spinner, van der merwe, and was well held at wide long-on by Vinay Kumar.

Super Kings kept delivering the odd huge stroke but lost wickets at critical junctures.

The Bangalore side had displayed resolve under duress. (The Hindu)

SCOREBOARD

Chennai Super Kings

Parthiv lbw b Kallis 36

M. Hayden c Pandey b Vinay 26

M.S. Dhoni c Vinay b van der Merwe 28

S. Raina c Boucher b Praveen 20

A. Morkel (not out) 20

J. Oram c Uthappa b Vinay 9

S. Badrinath (not out) 1

Extras: (lb-3, w-3) 6

Total: (for five wkts.) 146

Overs: 20.

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-69, 3-104, 4-125, 5-140.

Bowling: Praveen 4-0-26-1, Kallis 4-0-26-1, Vinay 4-0-38-2, Kumble 4-0-30-0, van der Merwe 4-0-23-1.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

J. Kallis c Parthiv b Gony 9

M. Pandey b Jakati 48

van der Merwe b Morkel 2

R. Dravid lbw b Muralitharan 44

V. Kholi (not out) 24

R. Taylor (not out) 17

Extras: (lb-3, nb-2) 5

Total: (for four wkts.) 149

Overs: 18.5.

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-22, 3-94, 4-110,

Bowling: Morkel 3-0-26-1, Goni 2-0-23-1, Jakati 4-0-29-1, Raina 3-0-23-0, Muralitharan 4-0-15-1, Balaji 2-0-16-0, Oram .5-0-14-0.