As the evening wore on, clouds threateningly hovered over the well maintained ground. For a while, it seemed as if the tryst between international cricket in Chennai and the rains would continue. Mercifully, the rains stayed away and the sparse crowd at the MA Chidambaram stadium was treated to great entertainment as the Asian XI batsmen showered copious runs in the second of the three-match Afro-Asia Cup series against Africa XI on Saturday.
The script was pretty similar to that of the first match in Bangalore. Mahela Jayawardene once again hit it lucky with the coin and had little hesitation in opting to bat first. The Asians made the most of the ideal batting conditions, stacking up another 300-plus total against the visitors.

Run feast
Sourav Ganguly, who had failed to build on a good start in the first match dragging one on to his stumps, was in no mood to let go the opportunity this time. The elegant left-hander missed out on a three-figure score, falling at 88 (112b, 9x4, 1x6), but his knock was overshadowed by the combined brilliance of the other batsmen who, unlike Ganguly, gave scant respect to a set of bowlers who had little sting in them.
Cashing in on the ineptitude of their rival bowlers, Asia XI piled up a massive 337 for seven from their stipulated 50 overs, setting another daunting target for Justin Kemp's men.
Like in Bangalore, the Asian opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Sanath Jayasuriya was off to a flier. Sehwag, in particular, looked in ominous form, sending paceman Albie Morkel thrice to the fence in the very first over of the innings. Jayasuriya, however, once again failed to fire, falling early in the innings.
Joined by Ganguly, Sehwag maintained his unbridled pace. After earning a reprieve from substitute Peter Ongondo, the right-hander went on to reach his 50 with six off Elton Chigumbura, hoisting the Zimbabwean over long-on fence. The bowler, however, avenged the mauling, dismissing the Indian with the very next ball.

Sehwag’s gift
Like he has done on countless occasions in the past, Sehwag (52, 38b, 8x4, 1x6) failed to put a brake on his attacking instincts and fell trying to send Chigumbura out of the ground. Failing to read a slower delivery, he only managed to scoop a catch to AB de Villiers, who covered good distance from long-on to complete the catch.     
Disappointment was writ large on Sehwag's face as he trudged off the field, pondering over another failure to come up with a substantial score.  
Mahendra Singh Dhoni then walked in to a roaring reception and lay into the African bowlers immediately. He deposited off-spinner Johan Botha for two huge sixes in one over and looked all set for a big one. Albie Morkel, however, produced a peach of a Yorker to rattle Dhoni's stumps to nip an innings of great promise in the bud. The stumper's 33 runs came off 38 balls with two fours and an equal number of sixes.
That paved the way for Jayawardene (45, 40b, 4x4, 1x5, 1x6), and not much seems to go wrong for the Sri Lankan these days. The right-hander started off with a cover-drive off Albie Morkel, then audaciously pulled Thomas Odoyo over the mid-wicket fence. Ganguly looked a mere spectator as Jayawardene tore into the African bowlers. His association (80 off 71) with Ganguly was assuming alarming proportions when Ganguly effected an unkind cut to an innings of immense delight. The southpaw sent back his captain after calling him for a quick single. Halfway down, Jayawardene had no chance of making his ground.
Mohammad Yousuf, too, bludgeoned his way to a 44-ball 51 (3x4, 2x6). The Pakistani throoughly dominated his 66-ball 84-run partnership with Ganguly before the Indian fell to brilliant catch by Ongondo.  

Electric Yuvraj
Yuvraj Singh provided an electrifying finish to an innings of relentless pace. The left-hander slammed an unbeaten 30 off just 13 balls (3x4, 2x6) as the Asians collected a whopping 92 runs in the last 10 overs.
Asia made two changes to their side, bringing in left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique and paceman Dilhara Fernando for off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Mashrafe Mortaza respectively. Africa, too, made two changes, replacing Steve Tikolo and Loots Bosman with Botha and Vusi Sibanda.