Brad Hodge unbeaten 71 match-winning knock

Centurion: Skipper Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge scored half-centuries as Kolkata Knight Riders recorded a seven-wicket victory over Chennai on the very last ball.

The Super Kings had posted a formidable 188-3 but allowed the Knight Riders to overhaul them with what skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni described as the worst bowling performance in the IPL

The skipper led from the front and had some of the shots he played came off earlier in the tournament, Knight Riders may not have been languishing where they are at the moment.

The Kiwi just put his front foot forward and hit through the line as the Chennai bowlers struggled to keep him in check. Whenever anything was pitched short, he promptly went on to the back foot and pulled with ease.

It seemed that McCullum (81 off 48 balls) will run away with the game, but Shadab Jakati removed him to get Dhoni's boys back in control.

But Brad Hodge was there to take charge. He launched a vicious attack on the Chennai bowling line-up which didn't look at their best on the day.

Chennai were in the mood to experiment just a bit in the game with a semis berth already booked. Hayden took a break, but with MS Dhoni and Raina around in the middle-order, it was difficult for the likes of Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram to get some batting practice. The duo carried on with their supreme form as Team Chennai looked set to close in on Delhi at the top.

Though the game was of academic interest, Raina was not in the mood to let the opportunity go. From the time he came to the crease, Raina looked to take on Ajantha Mendis and he did that with consummate ease.

A couple of his huge hits off Mendis disappeared into the stands and Chennai were on a roll. Even after Raina got out, Dhoni carried on with his breathtaking strokeplay. But all that fell flat following the Hodge-McCullum heroics.

Brief Score: Kolkata Knight Riders 189 for 3 (McCullum 81, Hodge 71*) beat Chennai Super Kings 188 for 3 (Raina 52, Dhoni 40) by seven wickets.