Ranchi: The late blitzkrieg (63 off 19 balls) from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni along with some brilliant batting by Suresh Raina (84 off 57 balls) helped Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs in the Champions League T20 match at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Thursday.
Batting first, Chennai had a disastrous start as Murali Vijay once again failed with his willow and was dismissed on the very second ball of the match for a duck. Thereafter, Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina steered CSK to safety as they added 43 runs for the second wicket before Hussey was caught by wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel off JP Duminy for 23. Raina was joined by S Badrinath and the duo added 70 runs in the next 47 balls before Badrinath was caught by Dale Steyn off Duminy for 13.
Thereafter, Dhoni came on to the crease and such was his dominace for the next few overs that Sunrisers' captain Shikhar Dhawan was left with no option to contain the CSK skipper. Thisara Perera bore the brunt of Dhoni's belliegerence in the 18th over when the Ranchi boy enthralled his home crowd by hitting the Sri Lankan for five huge sixes. Dhoni, in the process, also struck the fastest fifty in the history of the Champions League, reaching the landmark in just 16 balls and surpassing West Indian Kieron Pollard's record (50 off 18 balls). He together with Raina put on a 60-run partnership in just 23 balls for the fourth wicket. The last five overs produced 76 runs for the CSK.
Chasing a 203-run target, Darren Sammy fought cramp and the charged-up opposition to score an attacking 25-ball 50 while skipper Shikhar Dhawan hit a 34-ball 48 top of the order but their efforts proved short in the end. Sunrisers finished at 190 for seven.
