Kolkata - Mahendra Singh Dhoni blasted his way to a half-century before Justin Kemp picked up three wickets as the Chennai Super Kings demolished the Kolkata Knight Riders by 55 runs in their IPL match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Dhoni struck 66 not out off 33 balls to lead Chennai to 164 for three before medium-pacer Kemp tore through Kolkata’s middle order to finish with three for 12 as the home side slumped to 109 all out with four balls left in their innings.

Kolkata were soon in trouble as they slipped to eight for two in the second over.

Wriddhiman Saha entertained briefly with a bright knock of 22 off 13 balls before he was bowled by seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji. The same bowler then had Owais Shah (5) caught behind which set the scene for Kemp.

The burly South Africa struck in each of his three overs as he had Sourav Ganguly (11) caught at deep mid-wicket before he trapped Angelo Mathews (6) leg-before.

Kemp completed his good day in the field when he had Rohan Gavaskar (2) caught at fine leg as Kolkata lost their last eight wickets for the addition of just 75 runs.

Balaji picked up two for nine while seamer Albie Morkel accomplished the rare twenty20 achievement of bowling a wicket-maiden as he claimed up one for six.

The victory was Chennai’s first in this year’s IPL while Kolkata suffered their first loss in three matches.

Earlier, Dhoni’s innings ensured that Chennai overcame a sluggish start with the bat.

Dhoni took some time to play himself in as he scored just 13 runs off 15 balls without striking a boundary.

But the right-handed batsman was not to be tied down as he slammed 53 runs off the next 18 deliveries that he faced while blasting six fours and three sixes.

Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath added an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 109 off 65 deliveries with Badrinath ending not out on 41.

Chennai, after winning the toss and electing to bat, were restricted to 59 for three after 10 overs in the face of a disciplined bowling performance.

However, Dhoni’s onslaught saw the visitors score 83 runs off the last six overs of their innings.

The 28-year-old batsman did enjoy a slice of luck when, with his score on just three, he was dropped by keeper Saha down the leg-side off a delivery from off-spinner Brad Hodge.

Murali Vijay gave Chennai a solid start with a knock of 33 off 26 balls before he was bowled off an inside edge by medium-pacer Laxmi Shukla after Matthew Hayden (1) and Suresh Raina (18) had fallen cheaply.

Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik was the most impressive Kolkata bowler on show as his four overs cost just 21 runs while there was a wicket apiece for Hodge and the pace duo of Shukla and Ishant Sharma.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders:
SC Ganguly (capt), BJ Hodge, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, LR Shukla, RS Gavaskar, AD Mathews, WP Saha (wk), M Kartik, I Sharma, SE Bond

Chennai Super Kings:
M Vijay, ML Hayden, SK Raina, JM Kemp, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), S Badrinath, JA Morkel, R Ashwin, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, MS Gony