With that thumping win, Chennai have leap-frogged the entire mid-field in the points table to go from sixth to second! Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Rajasthan and Deccan are all tied on points, but Chennai is just ahead of Bangalore on run rate. And rest assured, run rate is going to matter in the end. Kolkata are two points behind the pack, on seventh, and Punjab are eighth. Mumbai of course are in a league that is all their own at the top. All teams have two games to go and the permutations and combinations possible are mind-boggling. It's probably best to forget all the 'If's' and just see how the action unfolds.
Hang on for the presentation.
Sourav Ganguly: "Not a good day for us. We picked the best team possible and tried our best. We lost too many in the first few overs and then did well to get 140. Expected it to turn a bit more, Raina batted beautifully. Hope we can win the next two games."
MS Dhoni: "Good to be in a situation where you go in a bit nervous, it helped us today. Ashwin bowled well, the others chipped in well. The IPL is all about pressure.. they way Raina and Vijay chased down 140 was good, it is a bit of a worry that the middle order is not getting enough practice. Vijay was initially looking to be aggressive, but of late he's realised that the body position is important and the results are showing. Raina soaks up the pressure at number three, he has the responsibility of batting quickly and not getting out, he's been brilliant at finishing games off. It is great for his career. I wish Chennai a very Happy Tamil New Year."
Man of the match is R Ashwin and even Raina would not mind this today. "I don't think I've ever bowled better, I am really happy. I knew the new ball would grip better, and it worked for me. I've been working on my carrom ball for a year, it was spotted by my dad. I hope I can continue the form going ahead."
That's thre story tonight then. Three young Indians put their hands up and pummelled Kolkata. Ashwin, Raina and Vijay - take a bow!
That's it from us tonight. On behalf of the team at cricinfo, this is Nitin Sundar signing off. Cheers!
END OF OVER:13 | 10 Runs | CSK: 136/1 (4 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 10.46, RRR: 0.57)
- Murali Vijay49 (38b)
- Suresh Raina72 (38b)
- Laxmi Shukla1-0-9-0
- Iqbal Abdulla2-0-14-0
Chennai could potentially go from 6th to 3rd with this win. Even 2nd, depending on how well they win!
END OF OVER:12 | 5 Runs | CSK: 126/1 (14 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 10.50, RRR: 1.75)
- Murali Vijay42 (35b)
- Suresh Raina70 (35b)
- Iqbal Abdulla2-0-14-0
- David Hussey2-0-22-0
