Raina, Nehra the difference as CSK beat RCB by 24 runs

Chennai Super Kings rose to the top of the Indian Premier League table as the two-time champions beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 24 runs at the MA Chidambaram stadium.

Electing to bat first, CSK lost their openers cheaply before Faf Du Plessis and Suresh Raina put them back on track. Towards the ends of their innings, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Pawan Negi hit some mighty blows as the team finished at 148 for the loss of 9 wickets.

Mitchell Starc once again proved lethal as he picked up three wickets for just 24 runs. Harshal Patel too was on the money as his economical spell helped restrict CSK to a modest total.

Chasing 149, RCB had a very bad start, losing three wickets with only 34 runs on the board. But skipper Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik steadied the innings with a 63 run stand. However, Dwayne Bravo's brilliant dismissal of Kohli through a run-out led to the Bengaluru team's innings falling apart.

Continuing his dream run in the IPL, Ashish Nehra was the pick of the bowlers for CSK as he took three wickets for just19 runs. He was well supported by Ishwar Pandey and Mohit Sharma who kept the pressure on the RCB batsmen throughout the game.

In the end, Suresh Raina's crucial 52 was seen as the difference between the two sides and the southpaw was adjudged the man of the match for his well compiled innings.