Chennai Super Kings banked on its balance and depth to outplay Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets in its last league match, and secured the top spot in the league phase of IPL-8 at the PCA Stadium here on Saturday.
In a battle between teams of contrasting fortunes, Kings, which opted to bat, set Super Kings a target of 131.
Faf du Plessis (55) and Suresh Raina (41 not out) put together a 92-run partnership off 70 balls for the third wicket to help the visitors romp home with 19 balls to spare.
Super Kings’ ninth victory of the season helped the team finish with 18 points. The home side, with just three wins and six points, ended up last.
Super Kings, after its longer-than-expected wait to book a berth in the play-offs, looked determined and executed its plans well.
Against some tidy bowling from the bowlers, especially the spinners, the Kings XI batsmen found it difficult to score freely.
Stunning catchSkipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who marshalled his resources well, opened with left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
The latter varied his length well and claimed two important wickets, accounting for Wriddhiman Saha in the third over of the innings and the dangerous David Miller in the 14th.
The South African fell to a stunning catch by Ravindra Jadeja at deep mid-wicket.
R. Ashwin was a picture of discipline as he checked the runs in the middle-overs and emerged as the most economical of the Super Kings bowlers, conceding just 14 off his four overs.
Ashish Nehra, making a return to the side, excelled with his accuracy. The left-armer removed Kings skipper George Bailey caught behind off his first ball.
The dependable Axar Patel (32 off 29 balls) came to Kings’ rescue again, forging a 44-run stand with Rishi Dhawan (25 off 20) for the seventh wicket to take the host to a respectable total.
Axar smacked the ball to the boundary after Kings reached 100 in the 17th over, while Dhawan unleashed two powerful sixes in the death overs.
Raina, du Plessis shineChasing a small target, Super Kings lost its openers in the first two overs.
However, Raina and du Plessis revived the innings and also guided their side to the cusp of victory.
The two ran well between the wickets, showcased their ability to play big shots and controlled the run chase.
du Plessis clobbered five boundaries and a six before being castled by Dhawan in the 13th over.
However, Raina stayed till the end to see Super Kings through.
