CHENNAI: Suresh Raina proved yet again on Thursday why he is the most successful batsman in this T20 league's brief history. An unbeaten century, his first in six seasons — a 100 not out in 53 balls — ensured Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs for their seventh straight win.
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The victory effectively seals Chennai's berth in the playoffs. It seems like the only thing hotter than the temperature in Chennai is CSK's winning streak. This win took them to 18 points at the top of the table and for once they didn't have to rely on MS Dhoni or Michael Hussey to get the job done.
Raina's calculated assault helped CSK reach 186-4 in their 20 overs after electing to bat and making a modest start. Also, Dwayne Bravo moved to the top of the wickets chart with his three scalps taking his tally to 19. Kings XI didn't go down without a fight though, and for the second game in a row almost pulled off a stunning upset.
They sure had the hosts sweating at one point when Shaun Marsh (73) and David Miller(51 not out off 26 balls) got going but again fell agonizingly short of the target, finishing at 171-6 in reply.
Earlier, Raina exploded after reaching his half-century in the 15th over but this was no slog fest. Instead, it was a series of crisp, clean and almost risk-free shots. Most of the shots, including five of his six sixes, were straight down the ground in the arc between mid-off and wide long-on.
Raina was particularly severe on former CSK paceman Manpreet Gony and Tamil Nadu boy R Satish in the death overs as he raced to his century just 21 balls after reaching his fifty.
Michael Hussey made 35, before he was stumped off a quicker delivery from Piyush Chawla, while Albie Morkel made a very useful 23 off 16 balls. Morkel and Raina put on 74 in just 38 balls after Dhoni was run out thanks to a piece of brilliance from R Satish off his own bowling. With mid-wicket on the fence, Sathish was forced to chase down a ball on the edge of the circle before producing a remarkably accurate throw on the slide to see Dhoni fall short of completing the second run.
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