Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets on the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to remain alive within the IPL 2023 playoff race. Although CSK continues to be well-placed to make it to the final 4, a win on Sunday may’ve sealed the deal for MS Dhoni’s males.
Deepak Chahar threatened to interrupt the again of KKR’s 145-run chase with three wickets within the PowerPlay, with the dismissal of Venkatesh Iyer standing out. Knowing Iyer’s tendency to remain leg-side of the ball and hit sq. on the off facet, Dhoni had a short-third in place to seize the sting, and that’s the place Iyer’s catch went.
With his group three down for 46 after six overs, Nitish Rana, within the firm of Rinku Singh, calmed frayed nerves. The presence of two left-handers on the crease meant Dhoni needed to delay introducing Ravindra Jadeja into the assault. Meanwhile, Rinku eased the strain with two boundaries off Moeen Ali within the ninth over. And when Jadeja lastly got here on within the twelfth over, Rinku carted him for a six.
In between, Rana bought a reprieve when Matheesha Pathirana dropped him at deep backward sq.. He made CSK pay with two inside-out boundaries off Moeen over covers within the thirteenth over. Both batters reached their respective fifties, and their 99-run stand finally ensured the raucous cheers of CSK followers gave option to gasps of despair and a well-deserved KKR win.
Earlier, Dhoni determined to bat on a “sticky” floor. Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 36) got here on inside the primary six and had Ruturaj Gaikwad caught. Sunil Narine (2/15) then clear bowled Ambati Rayudu earlier than sending again Moeen in the identical over. Dube and Jadeja’s alliance resulted in a extra sedate section of play initially. But within the seventeenth over, they smacked Suyash Sharma for 16. Dube remained unbeaten on 48 off 34 and added 68 with Jadeja, however in the long run, CSK was left to rue a below-par complete.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com