Wisden
Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2009-10

Indian Premier League, 2009-10

Nagraj Gollapudi

At Dharmasala, April 18, 2010. Chennai Super Kings won by six wickets. Kings XI Punjab 192-3 (20 overs) (S. E. Marsh 88*, K. C. Sangakkara 33, I. K. Pathan 44*); ‡Chennai Super Kings 195-4 (19.4 overs) (S. K. Raina 46, S. Badrinath 53, M. S. Dhoni 54*). MoM: M. S. Dhoni.

Chennai needed to win to qualify for the semis for the third straight season, and their captain Dhoni rose to the occasion with a pumped-up half-century, remembered mostly for his emotional celebration (an upper-cut to the jaw) after he blasted 30 runs off the final two overs to overhaul a steep target, which owed much to Shaun Marsh's calculated assault (88 from 57 balls). But the afternoon, which started with the players being blessed by the Dalai Lama, belonged to Dhoni.

© John Wisden & Co.