Chennai Super Kings on Sunday pulled off an emphatic 2-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 match no. 38 in Abu Dhabi. MS Dhoni and his boys came out with flying colours as they successfully completed a stiff chase of 172 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja Scored A Brisk 22 Runs Off Only 8 Balls Helping CSK Chase 172
Despite a solid start by the opening duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis, CSK found it was hard to stop the regular fall of wickets. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja played catalytic innings of 22 runs in 8 balls towards the end, before falling prey to Sunil Narine, on the fifth ball of the final over. With 1 required off 1 ball, Deepak Chahar gave the finishing touch.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was the top scorer for the Chennai Super Kings with 43 off 30 balls while his opening partner Faf du Plessis scored 40 off 28 balls.
Ravindra Jadeja single-handedly took the game away from a confident Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Sunday as he scored 22 runs off the penultimate 19th over as Prasidh Krishna looked on haplessly.
With 24 required from ten balls, Ravindra Jadeja smashed Prasidh Krishna for 20 runs in four balls. Needing 34 runs to win from 21 balls with seven wickets in hand, Chennai Super Kings looked like they may have thrown away a simple chase as Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni all fell within the space of six balls.
But Ravindra Jadeja crushed Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory hopes in the space of a devastating four-ball sequence in the 19th over as Chennai Super Kings eventually got over the line on the final ball in a dramatic two-wicket win on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi.
Virender Sehwag: CSK Is Unbeatable When They Play Well
This win once again brought CSK skipper MS Dhoni under the limelight for his exemplary leadership. Heaping massive praise on the CSK’s clever heist over KKR, former India opener Virender Sehwag said opponents would need to play their best game for the whole of 40 overs to beat in-form MS Dhoni’s team.
“They made a statement right after arriving in the UAE as they won third game on the trot. It’s a known fact that if CSK is unbeatable when they play well. However, bowling has been their weak link. Like we saw today. They could have restricted KKR to 150-160 odd runs but, they conceded 171,”said Virender Sehwag.
“If they bat first and score 160-170 runs then may find it difficult to defend the total because they don’t have any variety in their bowling, neither the have any mystery spinner. So, that’s what I feel, the problem is. Otherwise, they have so much depth in their batting. Shardul comes in at no. 9 or 10. If you promote him up in the order, he will definitely score like a proper batter, like he did in England,” Virender Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“The biggest challenge remains when they would bat first. It has to be seen how they play then. Everyone knows CSK is much better and you can’t have an easy win against them. You have to toil hard for the entire game. Like we say, when you face Australia, you need to play good cricket for the entire 40 overs. The same thing goes while playing against CSK,” Virender Sehwag added.
Virender Sehwag praised Chennai’s victory after a difficult last year in UAE when the franchise couldn’t reach the playoffs for the first time in IPL history. Earlier, for KKR, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana scored 45 and 37 respectively as KKR posted 171/6 in the allotted twenty overs. Eoin Morgan’s side was struggling at one stage but Dinesh Karthik’s cameo of 26 runs of 11 balls helped KKR go past the 170-run mark.
Chennai Super Kings is now back on top of the IPL table with 16 points, ahead of Delhi Capitals on net run rate. The franchise next square off against out-of-the-race Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday in Sharjah.
Chennai Super Kings 172 for 8 (du Plessis 43, Gaikwad 40, Narine 3-41) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 171 for 6 (Tripathi 45, Rana 37, Thakur 2-20, Hazlewood 2-40) by two wickets