Chennai, Sept 28: NSW Blues beat Trinidad & Tobago in the first Super Over of Nokia CLT20 2011 after Match 8 ended in a tie at the Chepauk.

T&T’s Ravi Rampaul bowled a dot ball to Moises Henriques first up in the Super Over; two runs were eked out of the second ball. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries were, however, dispatched for fours, thanks to poor bowling and fielding. T&T came out to chase 19 for victory, Steve O’Keefe the bowler; some desperate but prolific batting left the equation at four runs required off one ball. But Lendl Simmons was out caught off the last ball, handing T&T another disappointing defeat.

Chasing a tricky 140 runs on the Chennai wicket in the match proper – a target that owed much to some indifferent bowling – NSW Blues got off to a tense start; Samuel Badree bowled a maiden over to rein in the explosive David Warner. But the next over, bowled by Ravi Rampaul, yielded Warner confidence-boosting four, proving that pace on the ball would work in the batsmen’s favour.

Warner made up for the run-bereft first over by slamming Badree for two fours in his next. Shane Watson survived a very close lbw appeal and attacked Rampaul with a four in the fourth over, offering a glimpse of his vast potential. But Shiv Narine claimed Watson’s bonus life in the innings, getting him out caught to a deviation on 14.

A couple of overs later, Warner found his middle-stump shattered by a Sherwin Ganga delivery; he was out for a 36-ball 38. Captain Simon Katich walked out to join Daniel Smith even as the pressure mounted on the Blues. The tenseness of the chase was confirmed by Daniel Smith’s wicket, Sherwin Ganga and the slowing pitch combining to unsettle the batsman’s stumps.

Smith followed Smith into the NSW dug-out; a well-judged catch by Lendl Simmons dismissed Steve Smith leaving captain Katich largely in charge of a rescue operation.

The captain, visibly uncomfortable in the energy-sapping conditions, eventually fell on 23, caught by Badree off a Rampaul delivery. Steve O’Keefe and Mitchell Starc departed in the hyperactive 19th over that also yielded 10 runs.

With 17 runs needed off the last six balls, Moises Henriques played two boundaries to begin with; but the odds were decidedly against the chasing side. With six runs needed off the last two, Pat Cummins hit a heroic four. With the next ball earning Cummins a single, the match was tied, leaving T&T ruing the fact that the match had reached the Super Over.

Earlier, T&T won a good toss, considering the hot and humid conditions, and came out to bat, eager to put the ghosts of the last-ball loss to Mumbai Indians to rest. Their innings opened solidly, the first five overs yielding 40 runs, with all wickets intact. The auspicious start for the Caribbean side turned into a slump of sorts. Adrian Barath was the first to go, bowled by Steve O’Keefe for 15, paying dearly for poor shot-selection, while Darren Bravo (6) skied a delivery, ostensibly to up the falling run-rate, only to find the point fielder.

Opener Lendl Simmons then fell leg before to Moises Henriques for a 39-ball 41, a loss that might just have made the telling difference to T&T’s overall total. Skipper Daren Ganga and Denesh Ramdin, the next combination at the crease, injected some energy into proceedings, scoring a few welcome boundaries. Just like their hits to the fence, their departures were also closely aligned; Ramdin was out caught for a quick-fire 19 while the skipper, blessed with a life running between the wickets early on, fell to a stunning catch by David Warner at long-on, inches off the ground.

Kevon Cooper and Ravi Rampaul played freely and entertainingly in the closing overs, aided by some uninspired and tired bowling. While Cooper was run-out on 12, Rampaul stayed unbeaten on 15, with Jason Mohammed on 2 not out for company.

Brief scores: Trinidad and Tobago 139/6 in 20 overs (Lendl Simmons 41, D Ganga 21, M Henriques 2/27) Tied scores with NSW Blues 139/8 in 20 overs (D Warner 38, S Katich 23, M Henriques 18 n.o. , S Ganga 3/26, S Narine 2/ 26)

Super Over: NSW Blues 18 in one over (M Henrique 18 n.o., R Rampaul 0/18) beat Trinidad & Tobago 15/1 (L Simmons 14, S O’Kefee 1/15)

Man-of-the-Match: Moises Henriques for his two for 27 with the ball and 19-ball 18 in the match proper, and a match-winning 18 runs in the Super Over