McCullum leads Kochi to home victory over Chennai

KOCHI, India: Opener Brendon McCullum smashed 47 to lead Kochi Tuskers Kerala to a thumping seven-wicket win over champions Chennai Super Kings in a rain-shortened Indian Premier League match on Monday.

The home team restricted Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Chennai colleagues to 131-4 after a rain break had reduced the contest to a 17-overs-a-side affair.

Chennai lost opener Mike Hussey in the third over but in-form Suresh Raina (50) and Murali Vijay (28) guided them to a competitive total at the Nehru Stadium's sluggish track.

Chasing 135 runs from 17 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, McCullum led Kochi's robust reply and added 51 brisk runs in Parthiv Patel's (34) company.

That laid the foundation for the team's second successive victory, and their first at home, with two overs to spare.

Kochi are now fourth in the table while CSK slip to fifth.