Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets in the 33rd match of VIVO IPL played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata just finished a few minutes ago. Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Chennai Super Kings batsmen could not convert starts into big scores, restricted to 177 for 5. While chasing young Gill scored his first IPL half-century and helped by captain Dinesh Karthik chased down the target with ease.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Chennai Super Kings openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson got off to a flying start. It was good positive batting by both batsmen. Faf du Plessis was dismissed by Piyush Chawla for 27 runs off 15 balls. At the end of 6 overs, CSK scored 57 for 1.
After the powerplay overs, Shane Watson and Suresh Raina played with positive intent putting pressure on Kolkata Knight Rider’s bowlers. When things were looked good, Shane Watson was dismissed by Sunil Narine for 36 off 25 balls. Both Raina and Watson added 43 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Suresh Raina and Rayadu went in quick succession to leave Chennai Super Kings at 119 for 4. MS Dhoni continued his brilliant form with some brilliant hitting. Ravindra Jadeja struggled to time the ball and scored just 13 off 12 balls. MS Dhoni remained not out on 43 off 25 balls.
Chennai Super Kings posted 177 for 5 in 20 overs. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine picked 2 wickets each.
Chasing 179, Lungi Ngidi dismissed the dangerous Chris Lynn for 12 runs in the first over. Sunil Narine showed his aggressive approach while opening. The young KM Asif dismissed Robin Uthappa for just 6 runs. At the end of 6 overs, KKR scored 56 for 2.
After the powerplay overs, Sunil Narine was looking impressive but was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja for 32 runs. Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh put up 33 runs stand for the 4th wicket. Harbhajan Singh dismissed Rinku Singh for 16 off 18 balls.
The young Shubman Gill looked impressive coming at number 4 and faced top quality bowling. Gill reached his first IPL half-century off 32 balls while Dinesh Karthik played with positive intent scoring 45 off just 18 balls. Both of them put on unbeaten 83 runs which helped KKR chase down the target in 17.4 overs.
For Chennai Super Kings, Lungi Ngidi, KM Asif, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja picked 1 wicket each.
KKR 180 for 4 in 17.4 overs (Shubman Gill 57*, Dinesh Karthik 45*, Sunil Narine 32, Harbhajan Singh 1/20) beat
CSK 177 for 5 in 20 overs ( MS Dhoni 43*, Shane Watson 36, Piyush Chawla 2/35, Sunil Narine 2/20) by 6 wickets.
CSK captain MS Dhoni said: Disappointed with the loss, especially with the bowling department. The pitch was better for batting in the second innings. Our fielding was not great, dropping catches which made a lot of difference. Need to come well in the upcoming matches and bowlers need to focus on their strengths.
KKR captain Dinesh Karthik said: Our bowlers did a great job to restrict a top quality batting line up like CSK to just 177. Shubman Gill played brilliantly today and showed his batting skills coming at number 4. Credit to the management to trust on Under 19 players. Need to continue the winning momentum in coming matches.
Man of the match Sunil Narine said: I am happy with the way my bowling is going. I stick to a line and length which makes it tough for the batsmen. Happy to contribute with the bat also. Look to continue my performance in the coming matches.
With this win, KKR moves to a 3rd place with 10 points. They have played 9 matches so far winning 5 and losing 4.
Kings XI Punjab will take on Mumbai Indians in tomorrow’s match at Holkar Stadium, Indore.
