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Ganguly won the toss, Dhoni the match
Sourav Ganguly, the Kolkata Knight Riders' captain, called correctly and opted to bat first first against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
Ganguly felt the track will take turn later in the day.
He was wrong.
The track took turn from the first over itself, Ganguly's calculation going wrong right from the outset.
Ashwin put Kolkata in a spin
R Ashwin wreaked havoc on the Kolkata batsmen with a superlative three-wicket spell to help his side restrict the visitors to a paltry 139 for eight.
Ashwin's three for 16 ensured Kolkata was tottering at 19 for four inside the fifth over.
The off-spinner picked up two wickets in his opening over, first beating Chris Gayle (7) in the flight - and MS Dhoni completing a smart stumping behind the stumps - and then having Brendon McCullum (0) caught by Muttiah Muralitharan at short fine leg.
He returned to have David Hussey (0) stumped in his second over.
Ganguly ran out of luck
Skipper Sourav Ganguly was left to rue his decision to bat.
Ganguly (10) was unlucky to be adjudged leg-before by umpire Sanjay Hazare as the TV replays showed the ball would have missed leg stump.
However, by then the damage had been done.
Angelo Mathews top-scored for Kolkata
Angelo Mathews made full use of an umpiring error to top score for Kolkata with 48.
Ashwin would have got his hat-trick but for umpire Simon Taufel decision as the Australian ruled out the catch appeal
against Mathews.
TV replays showed that ball indeed touched the gloves of Mathews before landing in the hands of close fielder.
The Sri Lankan's 48-ball knock consisted of three hits to the fence and two over it.
Mathews was also involved in a 73-run fifth wicket partnership with Manoj Tiwary (27) that repaired the early damage to an extent.
Doug(ed) determination
D oug Bollinger, with figures of two for15 also helped Chennai's cause.
The Australian was lucky to have dismissed Sourav Ganguly leg before but there was no doubt whatsoever when he had Laxmi Ratan Shulka (17) caught by Matthew Hayden at mid-off.
Bollinger has been an asset for Chennai ever since his arrival as a replacement for the injured Jacob Oram.
Raina, Vijay take Chennai home with record stand
Suresh Raina (78) and Murali Vijay (50) put on a record partnership for the second wicket to ensure a comfortable nine-wicket win for Chennai, with a whopping 39 balls to spare.
The duo put on 137 runs in just 13 overs, putting the Kolkata bowlers to sword in the process.
Raina's 39-ball blitzkrieg was inclusive of 11 hits to the fence and three over it.
Vijay, meanwhile, played a sheet anchor role to perfection, his 40-ball knock comprising of four boundaries and two maximums.