Sangakkara lavished praise on his bowlers for setting up the victory.

'It wasn't a pretty win but the guys responded well to finish it off. I am very happy with the performance of Rusty (Juan Theron), Irfan Pathan, Shalabh Srivastava and the spinners. They won the match for us,' Sangakkara said after the heart-stopping thriller which was decided by the one-over eliminator after the two sides played out IPL-III's first tie.

'Theron, who came into this game just out of a long flight from South Africa, did really well. We got the confidence after Matthew Hayden got out and we did well to stem the runs after that.

'The wicket was not that easy to score runs. We know we did not bat to our potential, and there is hard work ahead. After three losses I am proud of the effort and we need to enjoy this win and prepare well for the next game,' he said.

Chennai Super Kings captain Suresh Raina thought the game would have been over in his side's favour had half centurion Parthiv Patel stayed on till the end.

'It was a very good game of cricket. We bowled really well. We should have chased it down but we didn't bat well in the middle. Parthiv played really well but I think he should have finished it off for us,' he said.

'Hopefully we'll do better in the next game. Albie Morkel and Muttiah Muralitharan are bowling well, which is good for us,' Raina said.

He said South Africa all-rounder Justin Kemp, who left the field without completing his first over, would be fit for CSK's next match on Tuesday.

'He (Kemp) suffered a leg-spasm and he is feeling better, he will come back for the next game,' said Raina.
For man-of-the-match Juan Theron, who made his IPL debut yesterday, the thought of having won the match for his side just after reaching from South Africa was yet to sink in.