Chennai, May 24: The ingredients were mixed in perfect proportions for a clash of this nature. Two teams packed with hitters who can make good bowling look ordinary feasted on some innocuous bowling and a pitch that gave them the luxury to hit through the line. In the end there had to be only one winner and Chennai Super Kings, chasing a stiff 212 for a win fell short of the target by 11 runs.

The difference was made by medium pacer Pankaj Singh who gave away only 11 runs in two overs at a crucial juncture of the match. Albie Morkel’s unbeaten 71 off 40 balls was a special effort that went in vain.

The Super Kings can take heart from the fact they competed hard. Stephen Fleming went early and Suresh Raina who was promoted took heavy toll of a listless attack that clearly missed Shane Watson. Hitting the ball cleanly Raina pierced the gaps with consummate ease as Chennai challenged the target well.

Raina did the right thing by going after the best bowlers which put Shane Warne under immense pressure. Parthiv Patel taking a cue from his partner grew in confidence.

The partnership looked dangerous and looked like taking firmer control when Raina found the fielder in the deep of a long hop from Warne. The stand yielded 71 runs in 40 balls. Morkel in an unusual position settled down very quickly and played some rousing strokes. Always looking to hit straight down the ground he was low on risk.

Partiv went berserk at the other end and when he finally fell stumped to Warne he had done his bit. The 73 runs that came in 39 balls for the third wicket put things in balance.

The last five overs required 55 runs but Dhoni’s exit and S. Badrinath finding the fielder at mid-wicket only made the target even more difficult. The last over from Tanvir was tight and much in the way he has operated through the tournament.

Earlier Rajasthan with four changes to their team hardly indicated the seriousness with which they approached the match. Having rested some of their key players including Watson, they were suggestions they were taking it easy.

The first over from Makhaya Nitini proved beyond doubt on how badly the Royals wanted to stamp their authority on this one. A free hit was duly deposited over long on by Swapnil Asnodkar and that set the tone.

Manpreet Gony struck to his now familiar and successful length, one that does not offer the batsmen space to swing through the line. After a tight second over it was mayhem as Asnodkar and Graeme Smith took charge. The diminutive Asnodkar was brutal on anthing that offered width outside the off stump and was also quick to pounce on balls pitched short.

Dhoni tried everything under the sun. Morkel came on for Nitini after he was pasted by Smith but the results remained the same. Three boundaries came in the fifth over as the score went past 50. L. Balaji was introduced for the first time during the power play and was duly dispatched for 15 runs. Both the openers were fed by some pedestrian bowling and one that did not do any justice to the strong off-side field.

Muralitharan was the only bowler to get some respect. The century stand arrived in the 10th over and the Super Kings were extremely lucky to get a run out in their favour when Asnodkar tried to steal a non-existent single and Dhoni at mid-wicket was up to the task.

The break however did not affect the run flow, instead it only got better with Kamran Akmal who had replaced Mahesh Rawat in the team. No bowler was spared by Smith as the partnership prospered.