The Chennai Super Kings won the match against the Deccan Chargers by seven wickets and also a spot in the semifinals at the expense of the Mumbai Indians here Tuesday. Chennai will now face Kings XI Punjab, whom it has defeated twice, in one semifinal, while Rajasthan Royals take on Delhi Daredevils in the other. Chennai bowlers kept Deccan batsmen under check as they could make only 147 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Chennai then scored the runs for the loss of three wickets with four balls to spare. Chennai's opening bowlers were on the mark from the start with Makhaya Ntini bowling with pace and got good bounce and carry, while Manpreet Gony bowled through his four overs for 21. The Deccan Chargers' Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist went back cheaply and Venugopal Rao (46) and Ravi Teja (40) were the only batsmen to put up some resistance. For Chennai its openers Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel cashed in when the bowlers erred. Suresh Raina then found his rhythm and his 55-run stand with M.S. Dhoni put the team on course for victory. While Dhoni and company celebrated the win, Gilchrist looked ahead after a disastrous first season, in which last-placed Deccan won just two of its 14 games. “I do not have any excuses. It depends which way you look it,” he said. “It's not end of the world. We should settle down, make a self-assessment and think over where we went wrong and plan for the future.” Deccan Chargers - 147 for 8 (Rao 46, Teja 40); Chennai Super Kings - 148 for 3 (Raina 54*, Dhoni 37).
