Chennai: Crucial Fifties from Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana kept playoffs hope alive for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as they registered 6 wickets victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
Nitish played an unbeaten knock of 57 runs off 44 while Rinku scored vital 54 runs in 43 deliveries for KKR. For CSK, Deepak Chahar bagged a three-wicket haul, while other bowlers failed to grab any wicket for their team.
Chasing a target of 145, Kolkata suffered early hiccups as Chennai Super Kings bowlers delivered fiery spells to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer and Jason Roy in under 5 overs.
Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana then handled the charge as they slammed CSK bowlers all around the ground. The KKR batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the CSK bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Rinku was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. After 10 overs, KKR batters dominated CSK batters as they took their team’s total beyond the 100-run mark.
Rinku showed his swashbuckling form as he slammed a much-needed half-century in 39 balls with a powerful boundary. KKR captain Nitish also brought up his stunning fifty in just 38 deliveries.
Moeen Ali’s direct throw gave CSK a vital breakthrough as he run out well-set batter Rinku Singh for 54.
The right-handed batter Andre Russell then came out to bat. KKR needed 4 runs in 12 balls to victory. In the penultimate over Nitish Rana slammed winning four and clinched a 6-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Earlier, Shivam Dube’s crucial unbeaten knock of 48 (34)* powered Chennai Super Kings to a total of 144/6 in the first innings against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Dube’s 48 included three sixes and a single four. His knock came when CSK were losing wickets at regular intervals.
After a bright start to the game, CSK suffered a major blow as they lost the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the fourth over for a score of 17(13). Varun Chakaravarthy got the much-needed breakthrough and after this wicket, the flow of runs started to slow down for the hosts.
Ajinkya Rahane and Devon Conway kept the scoreboard ticking and pounced on every opportunity to find a boundary. However, Chakaravarthy once again struck the breakthrough as he claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane tried to get things going for CSK as he charged down to the pitch and tried to go over long-on. However, his shot landed straight in the hands of Jason Roy. Rahane walked back to the pavilion after scoring 16 (11).
Ambati Rayudu stepped onto the crease in order to steady CSK’s sinking ship but Sunil Narine rubbed salt on CSK’s wounds by sending Rayudu back to the dugout for a score of 4(7).
Moeen Ali was next in line as he was bowed by Narine in the same over to put KKR in full command. At the end of 11 overs, CSK were 72/5.
Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja brought CSK back into the game from that point. They laid the groundwork in the next three overs to score boundaries in the final overs.
Boundaries started to rain in the 17th and 18th overs as Jadeja and Dube struck three sixes and gathered 31 runs in those two overs. Jadeja failed to survive till the end, he tried to guide his shot over shot third man but he scooped it straight to the fielder.
CSK ended the game with 144/6 on the board.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 144/6 (Shivam Dube 48*, Devon Conway 30; Sunil Narine 2/15) vs Kolkata Knight Riders 147/4 (Nitish Rana 57*, Rinku Singh 54; Deepak Chahar 27-3)