Chennai cruise to sensational win
A clinical display helped Chennai stay in contention for a spot in the IPL final four as they eased to a nine-wicket victory over Kolkata.
Kolkata opted to take first strike, but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin landed massive blows and although Angelo Mathews helped the side recover with a run-a-ball 48, the visitors ended with a measly 139 for eight.
Suresh Raina then made short work of that total with a blistering 78 not out, while Murali Vijay chipped in with an unbeaten 50 as the Super Kings cantered to victory with 39 deliveries to spare.
The resounding victory lifted Chennai to second in the table from seventh, although they are tied on 12 points with four other teams, while Kolkata remain on 10 points but are not yet out of the race.
Ashwin, who was thrown the new ball, conceded only three from his first over and then wrecked Kolkata with a double strike in his second over.
Ashwin first removed Chris Gayle by having the left-hander stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and then got Brendon McCullum for a four-ball duck.
In the next over, Dough Bollinger trapped Sourav Ganguly in front, although replays showed the bowler was lucky with his appeal and Ashwin returned to dismiss David Hussey, Dhoni again effecting a stumping to get rid of the batsman.
Kolkata were left reeling at 22 for four from the powerplay and Ashwin completed his spell with excellent figures of three for 16 from four.
Mathews and Manoj Tiwary (27) painstakingly revived the innings with a 73-run stand, the duo playing sensibly, running the singles hard and putting away the bad delivery when it came along.
Mathews, however, hit Muttiah Muralitharan hard, hammering the bowler for a six and four in his first over and thereafter inflicting heavy damage.
Tiwary fell in the middle of the 15th over attempting to inject some pace and Kolkata suffered another collapse.
Mathews fell in the final over, Muralitharan's only victim in a spell from which he leaked 47 runs.
Kolkata too began with spin and they were buoyed when Gayle sent back Matthew Hayden in the first over, but Raina proved too good.
The left-hand batsman began in a flurry of superbly-timed boundaries and continued to inflict heavy damage and reached his half-century with a towering six off left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla.
Vijay too slipped into destructive mode and reached his half-century off 40 deliveries before Raina brought up victory with a six - his third to go along with 11 boundaries.
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