Ntini's fiery spell for Chennai Super Kings blows away Knight Riders

Kolkata: Makhaya Ntini's fiery spell and a duststorm handed Chennai Super Kings a three-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders through Duckworth-Lewis method in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, Knight Riders were first rocked by Ntini (4-21), who took the third hat-trick of the IPL and restricted the hosts to 149/5. A duststorm later dashed their hopes of making a match of it.

Duststorm accompanied by showers took centrestage at Eden Gardens just when Parthiv Patel (19 not out) and Stephen Fleming (32 not out) had seen off dangerous Shoaib Akhtar to step up the run chase.

Super Kings were 55 for no loss in eight overs when play was interrupted. And for the second successive match in the IPL, after Delhi Daredevils' defeat to Kings XI Punjab Saturday, Duckworth-Lewis came into play.

Super Kings just edged Kolkata by three runs in the D/L charts. The packed Eden Gardens crowd, who braved the thunderstorm to stay back, fell silent when the visitors were declared the winners.

Super Kings consolidated their position for a semifinal berth, but Knight Riders, who have three matches left, have a stiff road ahead and might have to depend on the results of other matches as well.

Earlier, the phantom of the their previous match against Mumbai Indians - who bundled the Knight Riders out for a paltry 67 - seemed to haunt the Kolkata team.