Pune Warriors 156-3 (Jesse Ryder 73*, Steven Smith 44*, Yo Mahesh 1-22) beat Chennai Super Kings 155-5 (Ravindra Jadeja 44, Faf du Plessis 34, Rahul Sharma 2-16) by 7 wickets.

The scintillating duo of Jesse Ryder and Steven Smith tore apart the bowling attack of the ex- champions Chennai Super Kings and grasped the game for Pune Warriors.

Chennai Super Kings posted a reasonable total of 155 runs on board with five wickets still in hand and Pune Warriors clinched the target by scoring 156 runs for the loss of just three wickets with four balls to spare.

Jesse Ryder (Pune Warriors) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his heroic knock of unbeaten 73 runs scored from 56 balls.

The 16^th match of the Indian Premier League 2012, was played at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune on April 14, 2012. A huge home crowd enjoyed the fantastic match and cherished with the victory against the mighty Chennai Super Kings.

Earlier, MS Dhoni, the captain of Chennai Super Kings, won the toss and preferred to go for the batting keeping in view his excellent batting strength. The innings was opened by the hard hitting Faf du Plessis and Murali Vijay as the former threatened the rival bowlers with a six in the second over. He humiliated Ashish Nehra for 18 runs in the fourth over which included one six and three fours as Vijay was a silent partner at the other end. The first wicket was lost at 43 runs when Murali Vijay was gone for 8 runs as Suresh Raina came in and got two fours in the ninth over.

The score was taken to 67 when Faf du Plessis was stumped by Robin Uthappa off Rahul Sharma for 43 off 33 balls with 2 sixes and 5 fours. Raina was the next batsman to be dismissed for 20 as MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja accumulated 61 runs partnership for the fifth wicket when Dhoni went back to the pavilion for 26. Jadeja was gone two balls later for 44 off 26 deliveries with 2 sixes and 4 fours as they scored 155 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.

Rahul Sharma was the highest wicket taker with two whereas Ashok Dinda, Ashish Nehra and Angelo Mathews shared one wicket each.

Robin Uthappa and Jesse Ryder initiated the innings for Pune Warriors in a brisk manner as the first hit a six in the second over followed by a three consecutive fours by Ryder in the following over. They scored quick 31 runs in three overs as Uthappa was run out for 10 runs and Ryder kept on cruising at the other side.

The wickets were on the slide as Ryder secured one end and achieved his fifty on the first ball of the 13^th over with a four. Pune Warriors had lost three wickets at 90 runs in 12.4 overs when the promising Steven Smith took guards at the crease. They required 56 runs to win the match from 36 deliveries and the duo never gave up the chase. Smith took charge of the situation by dispatching one six and a four in the 18^th over followed by a couple of more rolling boundaries in the next over.

Pune Warriors were short of 10 runs from the victory at the start of the 20^th over as Smith made that easy by acquiring a four and six on the initial two balls of the last over. Jesse Ryder remained unbeaten for 73 off 56 balls with one six and 7 fours as Steven Smith was at the crease at his personal score of 44 from 22 which included 3 huge sixes and 4 fours. The aggressive duo shared an unbroken 66 runs partnership off 40 deliveries  for the fourth wicket.

Pune Warriors thrashed 156 runs with seven wickets in hand in 19.2 overs and find themselves on the top of the chart so far which is quite encouraging for the labelled under dogs.

Points earned by both teams at the end of the 16^th match of IPL 2012:

Pune Warriors                 – 6  from 4 games.

Chennai Super Kings – 4  from 5 games.