Dhoni cuts through Punjab

KARACHI: MS Dhoni destroyed Kings XI Punjab with a breathtaking 54 off just 29 balls as he spearheaded a six-wicket victory for Chennai Super Kings with just two balls to spare. The win guaranteed Chennai a semi-final place in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Dhoni, who came to the crease with his team at 89 for three chasing 193, hit five fours and two sixes to seal victory for his side. Suresh Raina (46) and Subramaniam Badrinath (53) earlier laid the foundation of the muchneeded win before Dhoni took charge.

Earlier, Shaun Marsh, who remained unbeaten for a wellmade 88 off 57 balls, set the tone for a high total. Captain Kumar Sangakkara (33) and Irfan Pathan (44) supported him but it was not enough to save Punjab from their 10th defeat and a last place in the league.

Ganguly leads KKR to victory

Rajasthan Royals’ chances of a semi-final place were destroyed by Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) eight wicket drubbing. Captain Ganguly led Kolkata with an impressive 75 off 50 balls as they overhauled Rajasthan’s paltry total of 132 in the 17th over. After the loss of two early wickets, both to Kamran Khan, Ganguly and Cheteshwar Pujara (45) added 111 runs for the third wicket to give themselves a good chance of a semi-final berth.

But it was the KKR bowlers who set up the win after Shane Watson (44) and Naman Ojha (18) had given Rajasthan a good start. The duo was dismissed in the space of 10 runs as Kolkata came right back into the game. Jaidev Unadkat grabbed three and Ashok Dinda claimed two wickets as Rajasthan were restricted to a low total.

Kolkata play Mumbai in their final match with the result determining whether Ganguly’s men progress to the last-four.