All-round Jadeja stars in Chennai win

Ravindra Jadeja's 4 for 33 helped Chennai defend a middling target of 141 to beat Rajasthan by seven runs in their Indian T20 league match in Dubai on Wednesday.

Chennai, who were asked to bat, struggled to take stock of a slow surface and lost wickets regularly. Opener Dwayne Smith was belligerent at the top with 50 off 28 balls, but after him the only notable contribution was Jadeja with 36 at the death.

Rajasthan's reply was hampered by the slower bowlers as well. Opener Abhishek Nayar was run out in just the second over and Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed by R Ashwin soon after. Shane Watson and Sanju Samson were not allowed to settle as Jadeja picked them up off consecutive deliveries in his first over.

With four wickets going down in seven overs, Rajasthan could not regain lost ground. Rajat Bhjatia, Steven Smith and Dhawal Kulkarni chipped in with some lusty hitting at the end of the innings but Chennai's bowlers did just enough to defend their total.

Jadeja, who was named Man of the Match, claimed two-more wickets and Rajasthan slumped to their second-straight loss of the tournament.

"Bowling [was the more enjoyable], when I went out to bat the situation was tight," Jadeja said. "So I had to play till the last ball and luckily I did. Wicket was pretty slow and the ball was turning so I was bowling on the right areas and we knew 140 was a defendable total"

Chennai's captain MS Dhoni said he was pleased his side managed to win on a difficult batting surface.

"The last few overs were quite pleasing. Apart from that it was a very good game. the wicket got a little slower in the second innings which made it hard for them. Ishwar bowled the perfect length on this wicket and was well supported," he said.