Kolkata Knight Riders still in contention for playoffs as they defeat Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets
Chennai Super Kings had a great chance of sealing their qualification for the playoffs but it seems like they have to wait for another game to do that after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders at home.
After winning the toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, MS Dhoni opted to bat first keeping in mind a big total on the board but the batters failed badly in a crucial game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway started off well but soon the right-hander lost his wicket to Varun Chakravarthy’s quicker one which was caught by Vaibhav Arora at short third man. The man in form Ajinkya Rahane joined Conway at the pitch to settle things down, however, the veteran batter was dismissed by Chakravarthy as he couldn’t get fully under the ball and was caught at long-on.
The southpaw Conway who was steadily building his innings got out at a score of 30 runs. It was Shardul Thakur’s short ball that was pulled uppishly and taken brilliantly by Rinku Singh at deep square leg. Dependable players Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali, too got out early after scoring just 4 runs and 1 run respectively.
Chennai was able to put 144 runs on the scoreboard because of Shivam Dube’s knock of 48 runs off just 34 balls. The southpaw smashed three maximums and tried his best to put CSK in control. However, due to a lack of support from the other end, Dube couldn’t continue to take his team to a good total.
On the other hand, Kolkata bowled well with four wickets going in favor of spinners out of six. Pacers including Vaibhav and Harshit Rana remained ordinary whereas Shardul Thakur picked up a wicket of Devon Conway.
Talking about Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting, Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Venkatesh Iyer failed to deliver with the bat. CSK star Deepak Chahar dismantled the Knight Riders’ top order by picking up three quick wickets, however, a 99-run partnership between Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana confirmed their victory.
Deepak Chahar picked up three wickets in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders
Rinku continued his splendid form in the ongoing IPL by scoring 54 runs off 43 deliveries including four boundaries and three maximums. Skipper Rana played a dependable knock of 54 runs including six boundaries that helped KKR win the game.
It was a below-average performance from the CSK bowlers as no one apart from Deepak Chahar bowled up to the mark. Apart from Chahar, everyone went wicketless, which became one of the reasons for their defeat. Star KKR batter Rinku Singh was awarded the Player of the Match trophy for his splendid knock.
Now, the Super Kings have to wait for their next match against Delhi Capitals on Saturday afternoon to qualify for the playoffs whereas Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t still ensured a spot in the playoffs and would be looking to defeat Lucknow Supergiants at home on Saturday evening.