Chennai WIns

It was expected to be a battle royal but fizzled out like a wet cracker, Chennai Super Kings storming to a 78-run victory over Deccan Chargers at the Buffalo Park here on Monday. The match bucked the trend of great contests that have gone down to the wire and left Mahendra Singh Dhoni a delighted man as his team picked up their third win on the trot and topped the league with nine points.

Winning the toss and opting to take first strike on a batting track in a small ground, Dhoni and his team piled up a massive 178 for three in 20 overs, the captain himself top-scoring with a half-century that was brilliantly paced. Dhoni’s 58 came off 37 balls (six fours and a six) and ensured that Matthew Hayden’s good work (43 off 26 balls, five fours, three sixes) was made capital of.

Dhoni promoted himself up the order to No. 3 and finally came to the party with a smart innings, first by playing himself in and then by opening out. Barely a match after he termed his own batting as pathetic, Dhoni was given the man of the match award for his crafty innings. His knock propelled Chennai Super Kings to a wonderful total.

Chennai Super Kings pitchforked themselves to the top with nine points from eight games while Deccan Chargers, who started off with four wins in a row but have now lost three successive matches, slipped to fourth place with eight points from seven games. Kings XI Punjab (eight points, seven matches) and Delhi Daredevils (eight points, six matches) are in second and third places ahead of Deccan Chargers