Australian Simon Katich set the match for the Kings XI with some great hitting as he amassed 50 runs in just half the number of balls and built a half-century partnership in just 33 deliveries along with Karan Goel. Katich’s dismissal was significant strike for the Chennai Super Kings, as he was snaffled by Shadab Jakati off Balaji. Yuvraj Singh played a captain’s knock of 58 runs and along with Mahela Jayawardene who remained not out on 44 runs, flayed the Chennai bowling took create a breif scare for MS Dhoni.

However, Dhoni’s master stroke of introducing Suresh Raina in the attack paid rich harvest as he gave away just eight runs in his crucial two overs. In the end Balaji kept his cool and bowled a pressure last over to take his side home. The Chennai fielding was of really poor standard as Manpreet Gony dropped two catches in the deep, the second and the more important one of Captain Yuvraj Singh when he had made just 15 runs. The Kings XI almost duplicated Chennai’s poor start when Sunny Sohal skied Albie Morkel’s first delivery. Manpreet Gony in the deep completely misjudged the catch and provided Sohal with an early reprieve. The joy was short lived as the very next ball Albie Morkel bowled Sohal off a straight delivery.

At the start Chennai won the toss and decided to bat first.The Super Kings had a bad start to their innings as Badrinath holed out to VRV Singh at third man, for a first ball duck. This was incidentally the seventh first ball duck in the Indian Premier League. Dark clouds loomed in the background as Suresh Raina continued his good run of form when he smashed Irfan Pathan for a six and two boundaries in the third over of the innings. At the other end however, Sreesanth kept a tight off-stump line to cramp Matthew Hayden. The duo continued on the run-making spree with Hayden bringing up the fifty run partnership between the two with a smacking six straight over long on off the bowling of VRV Singh. In 5.1 overs the Chennai Super Kings score stood at a healthy 53 for the loss of one wicket. The threatening clouds finally poured and the game was stopped, but not before Kumara Sangakkara spilled a simple stumping of Matthew Hayden off a Karan Goel delivery. The score stood at 68 for the loss ofe one wicket when rain showers interrupted play at Supersport Park in Centurion.

After the rain break play was curtailed to 18 overs per side with no strategy break for the Kings XI. The stoppage had an immediate effect on Chennai’s momentum as Suresh Raina was caught by Karan Goel at midwicket off Piyush Chawla. Raina departed for an aggressive 32 runs scored of 20 balls. Captain MS Dhoni arrived with the rain playing truant once again, the umpires though decided to hang on. The Captain bought an urgency to the crease with two backfoot boundaries Chawla and Goel and some energetic running between the wickets. Soon Matthew Hayden reached his fifth IPL fifty with a gigantic six over deep midwicket. In the same over he struck Chawla for a scorching boundary through the covers and further upped the run rate for the Chennai Super Kings. At the other end Dhoni put the foot on the pedal hitting VRV Singh for two sixes of alternate balls. The first went over the point boundary and the last one went for straight over the bowler’s head.

The Super King’s run rate continued to move upwards as Matthew Hayden plundered runs off Sreesanth. The burly Australian hit Sreesanth for three sixes in one over. The most bizarre was the first one, where Hayden swivelled to hit a one-handed six over the fine leg boundary. But in the end Sreesanth had his man, as Hayden skied a catch to Mahela Jayawardene in the deep. Hayden made 89 runs at a strike rate of 153.44. Meanwhile Dhoni completed his second half-century of the IPL with a hit to the fence for four. The Captain remained unconquered on 57 runs of just 27 deliveries as the Super Kings finished with 185 runs on the scoreboard. The target was revised to 187 runs, the addittion being made because of the loss of two overs.