Chennai Super Kings spinners, MS Dhoni outplay Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets
Pune, May 5 (IBNS): A superb bowling by spinners and an aggressive knock by Mahendra Singh Dhoni powered Chennai Super Kings to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets in a southern derby in the 11th edition of Indian Premier League at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.
On a pitch which was slow for the entire match, Chennai skipper Dhoni invited Bangalore to bat after winning the toss. Bangalore scored 127/9 in 20 overs.
Though Parthiv Patel (53 off 41) and Tim Southee (36 off 26) showed some resilience, Bangalore could not tackle Chennai's spin bowling unit, which was led by Ravindra Jadeja and veteran Harbhajan Singh.
Disturbing the equilibrium of Bangalore batting line up, Jadeja and Harbhajan together bagged five wickets conceding just 40 runs in eight overs.
Defending a low total, Bangalore however held their nerves till the end to pressurise the Chennai batsmen but the yellow brigade won the match after Dhoni launched a fourth gear-attack against Kohli's men.
Dhoni once again remained unbeaten at 31 (23) to enable his team go past Bangalore's total. Chennai scored 128/4 in 20 overs.
After the win, Chennai have once again moved to the top spot in the points table.
Bangalore's journey has become tougher as they are reeling at the sixth position with six points.
