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Chennai struck early
Chennai Super Kings thrashed Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match in Mohali on Wednesday.
It was only the fifth time that their has been a 10-wicket win in the IPL.
The two-time champions restricted Kings XI Punjab to just 138 and reached the target with almost three overs to spare to secure their first win of this edition.
Put into bat, Punjab were fairly well placed at 106 for three at the start of 15th over, before suffering a batting collapse from which the hosts could never recover.
Both Punjab openers failed to impress
Mandeep Singh (9) launched Punjab's innings with a boundary off the first ball of the match, punching one fluently through extra cover off Dirk Nannes.
Adam Gilchrist (9) found the fence twice in the next over, an outside edge to the third man boundary followed by a cover drive that was a connoisseur's delight.
But both fell in the space of three balls.
Dirk Nannes was impressive for Chennai
But Punjab could not sustain the tempo for long, as Nannes gave Chennai their first breakthrough in the form of Gilchrist in the third over.
Even though he was talking to the TV commentators, Hussey was focussed enough to dive to his left and get hold of Gilchrist's whip off the pads.
Two balls later Nannes struck again, sending back Mandeep who was caught at square leg by an agile Dwayne Bravo.
Nannes finished with impressive figures of two for 17.
David Hussey top-scored with 41
David Hussey top-scored for Punjab with a 36-ball 41, his knock inclusive of four boundaries and a six.
Punjab relied on Hussey's knock and his 56-run stand for the fourth wicket with Gurkeerat Singh after suffering three early blows at the PCA Stadium.
However, Hussey's dismissal at the hands of Ashwin triggered a collapse from which the hosts could never recover.
Gurkeerat provided good support
Gurkeerat Singh also impressed in his 26-ball 31, which included three hits to the fence.
There was a 56-run partnership for the fourth wicket between David Hussey and Gurkeerat Singh, before the Aussie was snared by off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin.
Gurkeerat followed after the addition of 10 runs, falling prey to Bravo.
Morris picked up two wickets on debut
Chris Morris, who was purchased for a whopping amount (USD 600,000) by Chennai, made his IPL debut.
He was initially frustrated, with catches being dropped off his bowling, but came back strong.
The South African finished with figures of two for 27 off his four overs.
Dwayne Bravo had three wickets and three catches
Dwayne Bravo produced a couple of late strikes as Chennai Super Kings took seven wickets for just 32 runs to bowl out Kings XI Punjab for 138.
The West Indies allrounder had the wickets of Gurkeerat, R Sathish and Piyush Chawla while also picking up three catches.
Michael Hussey top-scored for Chennai with 86
Chasing a relatively easy target, the Chennai openers got off to a good start and also benefited from a few missed chances, courtesy of some sloppy fielding by Punjab.
Michael Hussey top-scored for the visitors, making an unbeaten 86.
The Australian's seventh IPL fifty came off just 54 balls and was inclusive of 11 boundaries and a six. He was named the man-of-the-match for his effort.
Chennai openers put on a 139-run stand
Murali Vijay provided Hussey good support.
The two openers smashed the Punjab bowlers all over the park and their 139-run partnership, the highest ever in Mohali, ensured Chennai raced home with 16 balls to spare.
Vijay remained unbeaten on 50. It was his seventh IPL fifty and he has also two hundreds in the tournament.