Electing to bat in the battle of the two unbeaten sides, Knight Riders were restricted to a modest 147 for nine in their allotted 20 overs with New Zealander Jacob Oram returning figures of three for 32 for the home side.
The Super Kings surpassed the target with three overs to spare.

Hayden hit three fours and as many sixes in his 49-ball innings and was well supported by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who hit a quickfire 43 off 27 deliveries which was studded with six hits to the fence and two over it.
The duo shared an unbeaten 86-run stand for the second-wicket after Parthiv Patel fell to Ajit Agarkar for 21 in the ninth over of the innings.

Dhoni, who promoted himself ahead of Australian Mike Hussey to number three, ended the run chase in style with a huge six off Murli Kartik as Chennai raced to 152 for one and the top of the points table.
Aussie Hayden, who would soon return home to prepare for his country’s series in the West Indies, was in his elements right from the start.

He cut and drove with impunity while opening partner Patel lived dangerously at the other end, repeatedly fishing outside the off-stump.

Under pressure while defending a small total, most of the Kolkata bowlers were erratic.

Earlier, an all-round bowling display saw Chennai Super Kings restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to a modest total.
The home side seized the initiative with a double strike early on and the Kolkata team never really recovered from that.

Jacob Oram (3/32) was the wrecker-in-chief as the Knight Riders’ big guns — Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey and skipper Sourav Ganguly — fell to indiscreet shots.

Only Laxmi Ratan Shukla held the innings together with a crucial 42. Oram started the slide by dismissing McCullum and Ponting off successive balls.

McCullum was the lone Kolkata batsman to show some aggression in his 24-run effort off 12 balls. The opening stand of 32 (15b) between him and Ganguly was the brightest part of their innings.

Ganguly fell while trying to clear Joginder Sharma over covers. His 12 off 19 balls had just one four.

Kolkata’s first fifty came off 30 balls but as wickets fell at regular intervals, the next 50 runs took 57 deliveries.
While Muttiah Muralitharan remained the most economical bowler (4-0-12-0), Palani Amarnath claimed two wickets in four overs conceding 29 runs.

KNIGHT RIDERS: Ganguly c Badrinath b Joginder 12, McCullum c Raina b Oram 24, Ponting c Raina b Oram 0, Saha b Gony 27,  D Hussey c Badrinath b Amarnath 0, Hafeez c Joginder b Amarnath 16, Shukla (run out) 42, Agarkar c Muralitharan b Gony 11, Kartik c & b Oram 3, Ishant (not out) 4, Dinda (not out) 0. Extras (LB-2, W-4, NB-2) 8. Total (for 9 wkts; 20 overs) 147.

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-32, 3-61, 4-64, 5-70, 6-98, 7-121, 8-127, 9-145.

Bowling: Oram 4-0-32-3, Gony 4-0-40-2, Amarnath 4-0-29-2, Muralitharan 4-0-12-0, Joginder 4-0-32-1.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:  Parthiv c Ishant b Agarkar 21, Hayden (not out) 70, Dhoni (not out) 43. Extras (B-1, LB-4, W-12, NB-1) 18. Total (for 1 wkt; 17 overs) 152.

Fall of wickets: 1-66.
Bowling: Dinda 3-0-25-0, Ishant 3-0-26-0, Agarkar 3-0-19-1, D Hussey 1-0-10-0, Hafeez 2-0-16-0, Kartik 3-0-33-0, Shukla 2-0-18- 0.