Ntini hat-trick fires Chennai

Makhaya Ntini claimed the third Indian Premier League hat-trick © Getty Images

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Chennai Super Kings moved a step closer to a semi-final place in the Indian Premier League after a narrow three-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Chasing the hosts’ total of 149 for five, Chennai reached 55 without loss from eight overs when play was halted due to rain.

And after an hour-long wait the umpires decided to call an end to the match, handing Chennai a narrow win, and their seventh victory of the tournament.

Chennai fast bowler Makhaya Ntini claimed the third hat-trick of the tournament - spread across two overs - in a haul of 4-21 in the Kolkata total.

Ntini claimed the first wicket of his hat-trick at the end of the fifth over when Sourav Ganguly (two) backed away only to see his stumps knocked back, leaving the hosts 28 for two.

Butt and Debabrata Das then put on a stand of 86 for the third wicket before Ntini was inserted back into the attack in the 16th over with immediate effect.

The South Africa seamer bowled Das (27) with his first ball of his second spell, before hitting the stumps again with his next delivery to remove the in-form David Hussey.

Another prolific IPL scorer, Salman Butt, was the Knight Riders’ highest scorer with 73 from 54 balls.

The Pakistan batsman finally fell in the 18th over when he was trapped leg before by Lakshmipathy Balaji.

Chennai were gifted two runs to begin their reply as Shoaib Akhtar sprayed the first two balls of the innings.

The Super Kings’ innings gathered further pace in the next over from Ishant Sharma when Stephen Fleming crashed consecutive fours after Parthiv Patel also found the fence.

With rain looming that helped the visitors remain just ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis method, which would prove crucial when play was finally halted.

Former New Zealand captain Fleming finished unbeaten on 32 while Indian wicketkeeper Patel made 19.