Vijay and Dhoni pilot Chennai to victory

Murali Vijay hit 53 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni cracked a 19-ball 41 not out to set up Chennai Super Kings' 63-run win over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

Chennai posted a challenging 196-3 before bowling Rajasthan out for 133 to boost their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Twenty20 tournament. Mumbai have already made sure of a place in the semi-finals with 16 points. They are followed by Chennai (14), Kolkata (14), Bangalore (13), Rajasthan (11), Kochi (10), Delhi (eight), Pune (six), Deccan (six) and Punjab (six). Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 52 for Rajasthan, who suffered their fifth defeat in 11 matches. Rahul Dravid was the other major contributor with 20.

Australian paceman Doug Bollinger was the most successful bowler with 3-22 while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 2-24. Spinner Suresh Raina finished the match when he bagged the last two wickets off three balls.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 196-3 in 20 overs (M. Vijay 53, M. Hussey 46, S. Raina 43, MS Dhoni 41 not out)

Rajasthan Royals 133 in 19.3 overs (A. Rahane 52, R. Dravid 20; D. Bollinger 3-22, S. Raina 2-0, R. Ashwin 2-24) by 63 runs. JAIPUR, AFP