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We lost to the ‘genius’ of Hayden: Pietersen

Port Elizabeth- Bangalore Royal Challengers’ skipper Kevin Pietersen said Matthew Hayden’s blazing knock had given them no time to recover in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Chennai Super Kings here on Monday.

Hayden blasted 65 off just 35 deliveries as Super Kings routed Royal Challengers by 92 runs.

”When he bats like that, it’s nothing much that you can do. He is a genius. His knock never allowed us to settle (down). But we did not execute our plans well.”

”The target of 180 was a bit too much for us. But that is the beauty of T20 cricket. We had a dominating win against Rajasthan Royals in the first match and tonight Super Kings had a dominating victory over us. The tournament is open and we will have to compete in the next match,” Pietersen said after the match.

Super Kings’ captain Mahenddra Singh Dhoni said Hayden set the match for them and Muttiah Muralitahran finished it brilliantly.

”If you get a kind of start like that, then it becomes easier for the middle and lower order batsmen. They can go and hit the ball. Hayden was brilliant. It is very difficult to contain him when he is hitting those cheeky boundaries behind the wicket because everybody expects him to hit front of the wicket.”

”Spinners are playing an important role here and Muralitharan bowled beautifully.”