The relentless march of Chennai Super Kings showed no sign of slowing down when they won their fifth match on the trot as the seventh edition of Indian Premier League returned to the country after playing the first 20 matches in the UAE.

At the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, the hometown of India and Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the fans had a lot to cheer as their local hero’s side crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in a match the start of which was delayed because of rain. When play eventually started, it was reduced to 17 overs each side.

The powerful batting line-up of Chennai racked up a commanding total of 148-3, and after Kolkata lost three wickets in the space of five balls early in the innings, the result was never in doubt.

On a track where the spinners were always going to play a big role, it was Ravindra Jadeja who inflicted the maximum damage on Kolkata, picking up four wickets for just 12 runs.

In the process, the left-arm orthodox bowler also wrested the Purple Cap for most wickets (10) from Sunil Narine, only to lose the honour to his teammate Mohit Sharma late in the match.

The wily Chennai medium pacer took 3-22, including two in two balls in the final over, taking his tally to 11 wickets this season.

The Jadeja and Sharma show ensured Kolkata could do no better than 114-9.

The result took Chennai to the top of the table, tied alongside Punjab on 10 points with five wins, but they have played one game more than George Bailey’s side.

Kolkata, on the other hand, slumped to their fourth loss in six matches. Apart from the 100 minutes when nature held sway at Ranchi, it was Chennai all the way.

As usual, they started well with Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum, and continued to build up on that with solid contribution from the middle order.

Smith, second to Glenn Maxwell in the race for Orange Cap, was lucky to survive when he was stumped in third over of the match off Shakib Al Hasan, but it was declared a dead ball because the towel tucked into the back of the bowler’s trouser dropped on his run-up.

Smith did not last long, lbw to Shakib for 16 three balls after the incident with the score on 20.

That brought in Suresh Raina and the left-hander played a superb knock of 31 in 25 balls (4×4, 1×6) and added 70 runs for the second wicket with McCullum.

The explosive Kiwi opener has been in great form the last few matches, with previous outings of 40 and unbeaten 71 against Hyderabad and Mumbai.

He smashed 56 in 40 balls, with his favourite shot being the pull which he employed time and again. Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir read the wicket well and made the most of an unusual start with a double spin attack of Shakib and Narine, followed by another spinner in Piyush Chawla.

But neither the spinners, nor the medium pacers made much of an impression on the Chennai batsmen. Dhoni (22 in 17 balls) and Jadeja (17 off 10 balls) took the total to 148-3.

When Kolkata batted, Gambhir (6) was quickly back in the pavilion when he was run out to some quick thinking from keeper Dhoni and bowler Ben Hilfenhaus.

South African Jacques Kallis joined Uthappa, promoted to open the batting, and when he swept a delivery going way down the leg side from Ravi Ashwin to Mithun Manhas, it simply opened the floodgates.

Jadeja, who started his innings with a six off, was even better with the ball as he took two wickets in his first two deliveries, dismissing Manish Pandey and Shakib.

The only semblance of resistance came from Uthappa (47 in 38 balls) and a late cameo from Yusuf Pathan, who smashed four sixes in his knock of 41 from 29 balls.