Chennai Super Kings registered their 2nd straight victory in the 11th edition of the IPL after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets and with a delivery to spare.
It was a superb 88 off 36 by Andre Russell which helped KKR post a commendable 202 on the board.
However, the KKR bowlers failed to defend the target, as Chennai chased the total down in the penultimate over. It was sensational innings by Sam Billings which helped the yellow brigade get over the line.
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After winning the toss, Dhoni asked the visitors to bat. KKR began sensationally, as Sunil Narine smashed the first three deliveries for two gigantic sixes off Deepak Chahar.
The opening over yielded 18 runs which included three sixes. However, Narine was dismissed in the very next over of Harbhajan Singh, as the southpaw went for yet another big shot. It was a magnificent catch by Suresh Raina who eventually sent back Narine to the pavilion.
Lynn continued the onslaught but got dismissed on 22 after smashing four boundaries. Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa struck some impressive shots, but a flurry of wickets stemmed KKR’s run flow.
They got reduced to 89/5 at the end of ten overs. From there on it was some sensational power-hitting by Andre Russell which propelled KKR to a score of 202 in their allotted 20 overs.
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He didn’t spare a single bowler and kept on deposing them over the fence time after time. His innings of 88 off 36 deliveries were studded with 11 sixes and a four. In an over of his teammate Dwayne Bravo, Russell smashed three consecutive sixes. It was solely which innings which helped KKR get past the 200-mark.
Chasing a mammoth total, Chennai got off to a rollicking start. Both opening batsmen Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson looked in ominous touch. Watson’s 42 runs innings off just deliveries included three fours and three big sixes.
Rayudu, on the other hand, contributed with a well crafted 39 off 26 deliveries which included three fours and a couple of hits over the fence.
It was Tom Curran who provided the maiden breakthrough in the form of Watson’s wicket. Rayudu too fell in quick succession. Raina who got injured struggled his way to 14 before falling to Sunil Narine.
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However, it was MS Dhoni who smashed a four and a six of consecutive deliveries off Kuldeep Yadav to get things going.
Piyush Chawla eventually dismissed him. However, his dismissal didn’t matter for Sam Billings, as kept spanking the KKR bowlers all around the park. He raced off to a 21 balls half-century and kept his franchise in the game. Despite his dismissal in the penultimate over, Chennai chased the total down in the end with a delivery to go.
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Vinay Kumar was handed the final over with 17 required. He was smashed for a six of a no-ball in the very first delivery to get things down to ten required off the last six. It was Ravindra Jadeja who smashed a huge six with four required off the last two to seal the deal for CSK.
Here is what MS Dhoni said at the post-match presentation
“It feels good to come back after two years and win the game. It was a fantastic game. The first innings and the second innings. Everyone has their emotions, and we tell everybody to keep it under control. We need to have faith in the batsman or the bowler. A lot of positive energy helps. At times you feel disappointed, but for that dressing room is to express yourself. Yes. But every game one player is getting injured. We still feel that KKR scored more than us with all those sixes. IPL should add extra two runs for sixes hit out of the ground.”
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