Chennai not only recorded their fifth in a row win but also beat the defending champions for the second time in the second edition of the event to jump to the top of the table.
Chasing 141 to win, last year’s finalists, overhauled the target with 10 balls to spare.
Earlier, riding on a disciplined bowling attack Chennai had restricted Rajasthan to a modest 140 for seven.
Hayden and Badrinath batted intelligently as stroke-making was quite difficult on the pitch here.
Badrinath hit Shane Harwood for a six and three fours in the 16th over to take the pressure off Hayden, who batted with determination from the start.
Hayden departed when he danced down to the wicket to one off rival skipper Shane Warne’s delivery in the 17th over but was foxed by the big turn and stumper Naman Ojha uprooted his stumps.
Chennai needed 15 runs from 19 balls at that stage but Badrinath held his nerves and not only completed his third IPL fifty but also steered Chennai to victory.
Earlier, Chennai bowlers used the slow track brilliantly as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni shuffled them intelligently throughout the Royals innings, ending at 140 for seven.
Graeme Smith (30), Swapnil Asnodkar (26) and Ravinder Jadeja (27) were the main contributors for Rajasthan.
Published 09 May 2009, 19:04 IST