Lakshmipathy Balaji became the first bowler in the IPL to claim a hat-trick as Chennai Super Kings defeated Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai to register their sixth win in the IPL. 

Batting first, the Chennai team put up a formidable total of 181 runs in the allotted 20 overs. The hero for the Chennai team were S Badrinath (64 runs off 47 balls) and MS Dhoni (60 runs off 43 balls) who put on a valuable 91 runs partnership for the fourth wicket. Suresh Raina (26 runs off 17 balls) also chipped in with useful contribution. For Punjab side, Sreesanth picked up 2 wickets whereas VRV Singh and Piyush Chawla claimed 1 wicket each.

 

Though the Punjab team lost opener James Hopes and Karan Goel early, but Shaun Marsh (58 runs of 38 balls) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (20 runs off 22 balls) kept hopes alive for their team by putting on 66 runs for the third wicket. The hosts kept taking wickets at regular intervals to check the progress of the Kings XI. Even the late heroics of Irfan Pathan (40 runs off 18 balls) went in vain as Punjab fell short by 18 runs. 

Balaji was the pick of the bowlers for Chennai claiming 5 wickets for just 24 runs. He took his hat-trick by dismissing Pathan, Chawla and VRV Singh of three successive deliveries. With the win Chennai are now placed second in the points table with 12 points from 9 games whereas Punjab are placed third with 10 points from 8 matches.

 

Chennai Super Kings: 181/4 in 20 overs

Kings XI Punjab: 163/9 in 20 overs

Man of the Match: Lakshmipathy Balaji(Chennai Super Kings)