Chennai team to beat in Champs League

Suresh Raina led the way with the bat for the Super Kings

MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings have set themselves up as the team to beat in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament with a second successive crushing win in Centurion.

After winning their opening Group A match against the Central Stags by 57 runs, Chennai outplayed Sri Lanka's Wayamba Elevens, winning by 97 runs in the second game of a double-header at SuperSport Park.

Victoria head beaten New Zealand's Stags by seven wickets with two balls to spare in the first game to turn Group A into a three-team contest for two semi-final places.

Chennai and South African champions the Warriors have both won two out of two, while it was the first win for Victoria, which lost its opening match against the Warriors.

Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay set up the latest win for Chennai, putting on 137 in 12 overs for the second wicket to make a mockery of Wayamba's decision to field first.

Chennai piled up a tournament-best 3 for 200 and Wayamba could only manage 103 all out in reply.

Opening bowler Albie Morkel took 3 for 22 and off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 4 for 18.

Particularly encouraging for Chennai was that the players who starred on Wednesday were different from those who shone in the first game last Saturday.

The only concern for the Super Kings was the form of opening batsman Matthew Hayden, who followed a duck on Saturday with 10.

But Chennai has not yet called on fellow Australian Mike Hussey, who sat on the bench during the first two games.

Dhoni praised Raina and Vijay for the way they set up the win against Wayamba.

He said Australian fast bowler Doug Bollinger, who claimed the key wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, was a key bowler.

"It's important to have a quick bowler in our side," he said.

"But equally important was Albie Morkel, who has the knack of taking wickets."

Dhoni said his team wanted to win every match they played but added: "We always talk about not thinking too much about the result but about the process and preparing well."

The Stags travel to Port Elizabeth to play the Warriors on their home ground on Saturday, needing an exceptional effort to stay in contention.

The Super Kings meet Victoria in Saturday's late game.