All the talks of a great contest between Chennai and Kolkata turned out to be a no show as Chennai bulldozed Kolkata in what was completely a one-sided encounter. Chennai overcame Kolkata by seven wickets to continue another great run this season.
Kolkata managed a paltry 108 for 9 batting first, a target which Chennai chased down with least amount of trouble. Deepak Chahar was the star for Chennai with three wickets while veterans Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir claimed two wickets each.
Praising both Harbhajan and Tahir, Chennai skipper MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation, "The age is on their side. They are like wine, the way they are maturing. Bhajji has done well in whatever games he has played. I have fallen back on Tahir and he has done the job. They've come up every time but once we go out to flatter wickets, we'll have to see what combinations we've to play.
On Tahir specifically, he added, "Imran Tahir has confidence in me. He has got very good flipper. He is someone who if you tell that this is the right place to bowl on, he does it most of the times."
Despite the win, Dhoni was again critical of the surface, comparing the Chepauk pitch to the one used in the first match. "It became like the first game. Again we were cribbing about the track but we won. We've lost Bravo and it looks like this pitch suits us now but I don't think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring for the batsmen."
Chennai have been a most consistent team in the tournament so far losing only to Mumbai Indians so far.
--By A Cricket Correspondent