Dhoni leads with example, Chennai close to IPL playoff

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

CHENNAI, (Reuters) – Chennai Super Kings virtually  sealed a playoff berth after fifties from skipper Mahendra Singh  Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath took them to an 18-run victory  over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League yesterday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Opting to bat first, Chennai got off to a sluggish start  before Dhoni clobbered four sixes and five fours for an unbeaten  63 off 31 balls. Badrinath chipped in with a brisk 55 to steer  the home team to 176 for four.

With their skipper on song, Chennai milked 50 runs off the  last three overs that made all the difference in the end and  Dhoni’s men now top the points table after maintaining their  unbeaten home record.

Delhi clearly missed injured captain Virender Sehwag and  James Hopes tasted defeat in his first outing as the stand-in  skipper as the team managed 158 for six at the MA Chidambaram  Stadium.

Irfan Pathan (44 not out) and Y Venugopal Rao (30) kept  Delhi competitive but they could did not get the late charge  that was required to complete a successful chase.

The Chennai duo of Dwayne Bravo and Ravichandran Ashwin  claimed two wickets apiece to strangle Delhi, who now lie eighth  in the points table.