Injury-plagued seamer Balaji, whose eighth and last Test match came in Bangalore against Pakistan three years ago, took three wickets in the final over of the game to seal Chennai’s victory. Chennai batted first and managed 181-4 before Punjab replied with 163-9.

All three of Balaji’s wickets were Indian national team bowlers, first having the dangerous Irfan Pathan caught for 40 off just 18 balls (with three sixes), he then had Chawla caught and completed his milestone by having VRV Singh caught behind by India’s one-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Subramaniam Badrinath (64 off 47 balls) and Dhoni (60 off 43) earlier gave Chennai a solid foundation on which to launch their victory charge, while Punjab opener Shaun Marsh’s 58 off 38 deliveries was the top score in what was a stop-start innings.

Chennai joined Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals team at the top of the table on 12 points but have played a game more and have an inferior run rate. Punjab remain third with ten points but have played a game less than Chennai.