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He was the toast of the nation with his disarming smile and potent bowling until two years ago. But a back injury appeared to have ended his career prematurely. L Balaji, forcing his way back to top-flight cricket after spending two years in the wilderness, became the architect of Chennai's 18-run victory over Mohali at the MA Chidambaram stadium here on Saturday.

Powered by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's blitzkrieg 60 not out and a stylish 64 from S Badrinath, Chennai piled up an impressive 181-4 before Balaji got into the act with figures of 5-24, including the first ever hat-trick of the Indian Premier League.

Chennai's bowlers did well to pick up three wickets despite the batsmen getting off to a flier. Shaun Marsh, the opener, stroked a fluent half-century to continue with his stunning run of form in the tournament but got little asistance from the rest of the Mohali batsmen before Irfan Pathan's valiant 40 from just 18 balls got his side within striking distance.

But the day belonged to two home boys — Subramaniam Badrinath and Laxmipathy Balaji. Badrinath's maturity with the bat brought as much to cheer about for the crowd as did Balaji's superb effort.

Marsh and Ramnaresh Sarwan's partnership in the middle overs threatened to take the game away from Chennai, but Balaji's second over of the night fetched him the wickets of the set batsmen, sparking a middle order collapse that saw Yuvraj Singh and Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene depart cheaply.

The Mohali batsmen struggled to get the big shots in until Irfan Pathan clubbed three sixes and three boundaries with Piyush Chawla giving him company at the other end for a 48-run seventh-wicket stand. Balaji was handed the final over in which Mohali needed an improbable 27. After getting thumped for a six off the first ball, Balaji adjusted beautifully with the wickets of Pathan, Chawla and VRV Singh, completing his fairytale comeback.

Chennai, having been put in to bat, didn't get the start they expected through S Vidyut and Stephen Fleming, but were lifted by some inspiring middle order batting. While one murdered the bowling attack, the other showed just how much value the book of cricket still holds.