Suresh Raina blasted a breathtaking 43-ball 90 to power Chennai Super Kings to a convincing 54-run victory over Dolphins and keep their semi-finals hopes alive in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 in Bangalore, on Monday.
Chennai an imposing 242 for six in their 20 overs and then saw off South African side Dolphins' early onslaught to bowl them out for 188 in 20 overs.
Dolphins started off with a blaze and had raced to 56 for two after three overs and had crossed the 100-run mark by the end of ninth over but they could not sustain the tempo and lost its way after the initial promise.
Cameron Delport and skipper Morne van Wyk went after the Chennai bowlers right from the start as the former smashed Ashish Nehra for 20 runs in the first over, hitting the seamer for two fours and a six.
Wyk hit R Ashwin for two fours and a six before he was dismissed by the off-spinner in the second over of the innings.
Cody Chetty hit 38 from 28 balls before Dwayne Bravo foxed with him a slower ball as Dolphins's middle order failed to come to the party and they failed to seize the momentum after the fiery start.
Mohit was the most successful bowler for Chennai, taking four for 41, while Bravo claimed two for 17 and Nehra bagged two for 42.
Earlier, Raina's magical strokeplay helped Chennai Super Kings notch up an imposing 242 for six in their 20 overs after they were put into bat.
Raina went on the attack right from the word go as he slammed four boundaries and eight sixes in his entertaining innings to leave the Dolphins bowlers stunned.
Needing a victory to keep their semi-finals prospects alive following the defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening match, Chennai lost an early wicket when opener Dwayne Smith was caught by Khaya Zondo off Keshav Maharaj for seven.
But Brendon McCullum took the attack to Dolphins bowlers as he hammered 49 off 29 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.
Raina and McCullum put Chennai in control as they put a blazing 91-run stand from 45 balls for the second wicket.
After McCullum's innings was brought to an end by Zondo in the ninth over, the left-handed Raina added 65 runs for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis to consolidate Chennai's position.
Raina went on a leatherhunt against the hapless Dolphins bowlers, ensuring that Chennai maintained a healthy run out throughout their innings. However, the left-hander was unfortunate to miss out on a deserved century by 10 runs and was caught at point off Robbie Frylinck.
In the final overs, Ravindra Jadeja played a hurricane knock of 40 not out from a mere 14 balls, hitting three sixes and as many fours in the process. Keshav Maharaj suffered at the hands of Jadeja as he was hit for 24 runs in the 17th over with the lefthander hitting him for three sixes and a four.
Du Plessis contributed with 30 from 19 balls but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was bowled for a first-ball duck by Frylinck, who took two for 52 in four overs.
