Chennai Super Kings Roar Into IPL Final As Gony and Ntini Brush Aside King's XI

Manpreet Gony and Makhaya Ntini put on a masterclass display of fast bowling as the King's XI Punjab were outplayed in a semi final that saw the Chennai Super Kings win by 9 wickets and progress to tomorrow's showpiece final with Shane Warne's mighty Rajasthan Royals.

South African paceman Ntini showed more control in this display than any other in this IPL so far, returning figures of 2-23 and removing key wickets in the powerplay overs, including nailed on orange-cap winner Shaun Marsh.

Manpreet Gony, India's find of the IPL, was superb in the backing up of his fast-bowling partner and found the lightest of edges from in-form Kumar Sangakkara to put the Super Kings in the driving seat.

The King's XI opted to bat first and were up against it from the second over, with Ntini tempting Hopes into playing at a wide delivery and Parthiv Patel easily pouching behind the stumps. Sangakkara followed him next over, showing great sportsmanship by commendably walking, despite being given not out by umpire Daryl Harper.

The wickets tumbled in the powerplay, with Marsh playing onto his stumps attempting an ill-advised pull shot and Yuvraj Singh holing out to a superb catch from Muralitharan, who rolled back the years in the field. The only resistance came from Ramesh Powar, whose defiant 28 not out gave the King's XI a slim chance of victory.

These dreams were soon dashed as the short left-handers Patel and Raina dismantled the bowling attack, forming a century partnership and taking a 50 each on the way to an easy 9 wicket win.

The shot of the night came from Suresh Raina, whose crunching 104m six over square leg went out of the ground and into orbit.

The loss will be devastating for the King's XI Punjab, whose second place finish in the league must have given them hope of progressing to tomorrow's final. However, their big-name and big-performing batsmen buckled under the pressure of the Mumbai crowd and, having been reduced to 45-6 in the tenth over, were out of the game inside the first hour.

The final at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy promises to be a high-pressure affair, with both captains desperate to get the IPL trophy. Warne's Royals will surely provide a more stubborn resistance to the Chennai Super Kings, but if Ntini and Gony can bowl like they did today, the men in yellow have a great chance of victory.