Chennai barely broke a sweat in a ten-wicket win that came in 17.2 overs, with Mike Hussey (86 off 54 balls) and M Vijay (50 off 50 balls) able to pace the chase comfortably, given Punjab's below-par total of 138 all out in 19.5 overs.At the start, Mahendra Singh Dhoni inserted Punjab in on a pitch with a sprinkling of grass, and the Chennai bowlers maintained control for large parts of a Punjab innings that ended at least 20 runs short of what it looked good for at one point. Whenever Punjab sensed an opening to get away, they were reined in.Hussey was particularly fluent, and apart from a brief ten-ball period when Punjab missed two chances and saw a close call go against them, he picked runs at will on either side of the wicket, piercing the field when driving, clipping and pulling the bowlers apart. Vijay was more sedate at the start, but the pace Hussey set and the small target allowed him to settle in, and Vijay in turn played several pleasing shots.Dwayne Bravo (3 for 27) was in the thick of the action, coming back for a second spell of 3 for 9 in two overs and taking three swirling catches in the outfield during the innings. Punjab had been put on the back foot early, with Dirk Nannes steaming in and getting the wickets of Gilchrist and Mandeep Singh, the openers. Gilchrist fell when Hussey took a sharp chance at leg gully, while Mandeep was undone by the extra pace and bounce that Nannes generated.Both men took full toll of their good fortune. Hussey was ruled in when Ryan Harris threw down the stumps in the seventh over, after putting in a full-length dive. Hussey got the benefit of the doubt, with some camera angles suggesting that he had a small part of the bat over the line, some suggesting otherwise. In the next over, Piyush Chawla put down a simple return chance off Hussey and Adam Gilchrist missed a straightforward stumping chance against Vijay.
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