Suresh Raina worked his way to a superb 63 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a blistering 16-ball 45 as Chennai Super Kings overcame a poor start to post a challenging 164 for three against Pune Warriors in their IPL match, here today.
Raina showed a lot of maturity while batting as he did the spade work along with S Badrinath while Dhoni provided the late fireworks in side's remarkable recovery.
After losing Michael Hussey (5) and Wriddhiman Sahara (13) early, Raina and Badrinath (34) steadied the ship with a 75-run stand for the third wicket.
But it was 61-run unbeaten partnership between Raina and Dhoni for the fourth wicket that spoilt all the good work Pune bowlers had done earlier.
It rained fours and sixes when Dhoni batted as Chennai collected 50 runs in the last four overs. Dhoni punished hapless bowlers with seven boundaries including three sixes, the last one coming off the last ball.
Young Australian paceman Kane Richardson and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowled a fiery spell in the beginning to subdue the dangerous visitors. Richardson knocked over Hussey in his third ball to give his side a rousing start.
Such ferocious was the attack that it took other opener Saha nine balls to get off the mark. The stumper though hit Richardson for a straight six and a four through cover region in the fifth over to break the shackles.
Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, too was impressive, as he was not only economical but also trapped Saha (13) to give Chennai the second blow. The visitors were 29 for 2 in six overs.
Encouraged by the pace-friendly pitch, skipper Aaron Finch smartly rotated Ashok Dinda, Abhishek Nayar and Kumar as Raina and Badrinath took some time to settle.
