Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by 10 runs in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday, thanks to a fine performance by the bowlers after opener Rahul Tripathi’s brilliant half-century. Chasing the Knight Riders ‘168-run target, the Superkings’ team could only manage 175 for five despite a half-century by Shane Watson (50) and their 69-run partnership with Ambati Rayudu (30).
The Superkings team were in a very strong position at 90 for one wicket in 10 overs at one time, but Sunil Narine (one wicket for 31), Varun Chakraborty (one wicket for 28 runs) and Andre Russell (one wicket for 18 runs) Bowled brilliantly in the last 10 overs, giving the Knight Riders a strong comeback and victory.
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The Knight Riders were reduced to 167 despite Tripathi’s brilliant half-century. Tripathi hit eight fours and three sixes in his 51-ball innings. Apart from him, none of the Knight Riders batsmen could even touch the 20-run mark. For Superkings, Dwayne Bravo took three for 37, while Karn Sharma took 25, Sam Curren 26 and Shardul Thakur took two wickets for 28 runs. The Knight Riders team could only add 74 runs in the final 10 overs. Rahul Tripathi has been called the ‘man of the match’ for his outstanding batting.
This is the third victory for Knight Riders in five matches and the team has reached third place with six points. The Superkings have four points after their fourth defeat in six matches. Chasing the goal, the Superkings had a poor start and Faf Duplesey was caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik off Shivam Mavi after scoring 17 runs. After Watson settled at the crease, Mavi’s successive balls hit a four and a six. The Superkings scored 54 for one wicket in the power play.
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Rayudu welcomed leg-spinner Chakraborty and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagerkoti with fours after hitting a four off Pat Cummins. Watson also hit Chakraborty and Nagerkoti for fours. Karthik got Nagerkoti back for a new spell and the fast bowler caught Rayudu off Shubman Gill at the boundary on the very first ball. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored the team score of 100 in the 13th over with a single off Nagerkoti. Watson completed his second consecutive fifty in 39 balls with one run in the same over.
Sunil Narayan bowled Watson to make the Knight Riders a big success. Watson hit six fours and a six in his 40-ball innings. The team of Superkings, meanwhile, could only score 20 runs in five overs from the 11th to the 15th over and there was no boundary during this which put pressure on the team. The Superkings needed 58 runs to win the final five overs. Sam Curran ended the boundary drought with sixes and fours off consecutive balls from Narayan.
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Dhoni hit Chakraborty for a four, but was bold in trying to play a big shot on the next ball. He scored 11 runs. Only five runs were scored in this over. Andre Russell sent Curran (17) off his first ball and conceded just three runs. The Superkings needed 36 runs in the final two overs. Even in the 19th over of Naren’s innings, the team of Superkings could score only 10 runs. Russell had to defend 26 runs in the last over and only 15 runs in his over.
Earlier, Knight Riders captain Karthik won the toss and decided to bat first, after which the opening pair of Tripathi and Shubman Gill gave the team a cautious start. Tripathi hit three fours in Deepak Chahar’s opening two overs, while Gill also hit a four. Gill, however, could not stay long and after 11 runs, he was caught by wicketkeeper Dhoni off Shardul. Tripathi hit the first six of the innings on Chahar and then welcomed Karn Sharma with a six. Knight Riders scored 52 runs for one wicket in the power play.
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Nitish Rana, however, made an easy catch to Ravindra Jadeja at the boundary trying to play a big shot off Karna’s ball. He scored nine runs. Tripathi completed a half-century off 31 balls with fours on Bravo, while Sunil Narine (17) hit a six and a four off consecutive balls in the same over. Naren then succumbed to a spectacular catch at the boundary. He picked up Karna’s ball and hit it, but Jadeja held the ball in the running, but when it got closer to the boundary line, he extended it to Duplesey who converted it into a catch.
Eoin Morgan opened the account with fours on Shardul and completed the team’s century in the 12th over. Superkings bowlers curb the run pace in the middle overs. The Knight Riders were able to score 21 runs in four overs from the 11th to the 14th over, and the advantage came in the form of Morgan (07) who caught Dhoni on a bouncer from Curren.
Tripathi hit a four and a six over Chahar who came for the new spell, but Andre Russell (02) caught Dhoni off Shardul. Tripathi hit a four on Bravo, but caught Watson in the slip on the same fast bowler’s ball. Cummins (17 not out) brought the team score to 150 runs in the 18th over with fours and sixes on Shardul. Curran dismissed Karthik, while Bravo sent Nagerkoti and Mavi to the pavilion.
Chennai Superkings:
Shane Watson Pagbadha Bo Narayan 50
Kartik Bo Mavi of Faf Duplecy 17
Ambati Rayudu’s Gil Bo Nagerkoti 30
Mahendra Singh Dhoni Bo Chakraborty 11
Morgan Bow Russell 17 of Sam Curren
Kedar Jadhav not out 07
Ravindra Jadeja not out 21
Additional: 4
Total: Five wickets in 20 overs: 157 runs
Wicket Fall: 1–30, 2–99, 3–101, 4–129, 5–129
Kolkata bowling:
Andre Russell 2-0-18-1
Pat Cummins 4-0-25-0
Sunil Naren 4-0-31-1
Shivam Mavi 3-0-32-1
Varun Chakraborty 4-0-28-1
Kamlesh Nagerkoti 3-0-21-1
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Rahul Tripathi’s Watson Bo Bravo 81
Shubman Gill’s Dhoni Bow Shardul 11
Nitish Rana’s Jadeja Bo Karna 09
Sunil Naren’s Du Plessis Bow Karna 17
Eoin Morgan’s Dhoni Bo Curren 07
Andre Russell’s Dhoni Bo Shardul 02
Dardesh Karthik’s Shardul Bo Kuren 12
Pat Cummins 17 not out
Kamlesh Nagerkoti du Plessis bo Bravo 00
Shivam Mavi’s Dhoni Bow Bravo 00
Varun Chakraborty run out 01
Additional: 10
Total: Losing all wickets in 20 overs: 167 runs
Wicket Fall: 1-37, 2-70, 3-98, 4-114, 5-128, 6-140, 7-162, 8-163, 9-166
Chennai bowling:
Sam Curren 4-0-26-2
Karn Sharma 4-0-25-2
Dwayne Bravo 4-0-37-3
Deepak Chahar 4-0-47-0
Shardul Thakur 4-0-28-2
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