IPL 2021: KKR vs CSK – Chennai survive Russell-Cummins show to win a thriller
Chennai Super Kings survived a scare at the Wankhede Stadium when Pat Cummins played a blinder of a knock to keep his side in the tall run-chase till the very end. Chasing 221, Kolkata Knight Riders faltered early in the powerplay but went down fighting in this last-over thriller, losing the match by 18 runs.
Winning the toss, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan sent in the CSK to bat first. Ruturaj Gaikwad came back to form scoring a brilliant 64 run knock from 42 balls to set up the innings. He shared a first-wicket partnership of 115 runs with Faf du Plessis. The South African went on to stay till the end of the innings, scoring 95 runs off 60 balls.
There were contributions from MS Dhoni, 17 runs off 8 balls, Moeen Ali, 12-ball 25 and Ravindra Jadeja, who hit the last ball for six as CSK’s score ended up being 220 for 3. Like they finished with the bat, they started well with the ball as well. Deepak Chahar was once again among the wickets in the powerplay as he picked up four for 29 in his four overs.
His spell reduced KKR to 31 for 5, before Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik picked up the scoring rate. The duo took the score to 112 in the 12th over, when Sam Curran dismissed Russell in a freakish manner. Russell made 54 from 22 balls. Karthik also got 40 from 24 balls, but CSK’s true shock was when Pat Cummins kept swinging hard and clearing the fence.
Eventually, the Australian ran out of partners. He stayed unbeaten on 66 runs off 34 balls, but KKR lost the game by 18 runs.
Turning points:
Deepak Chahar and KKR’s powerplay: Chasing 220, any team looks for a good start with the bat, but unfortunately, KKR lost their track pretty early. Chahar got his second four-for in three matches, to jolt the Kolkata team early. His spell of 4 for 29 broke them early and it seemed they always needed an impossible task, because of their bad start.
Andre Russell’s wicket: When Andre Russell started striking the ball hard and got to his fifty, he played only 21 balls. Batting on 54, he had hit six sixes and three fours to put CSK on the backfoot. The match seemed to turn towards the KKR team, but Russell was bowled down the leg-side by Sam Curran in a freakish manner, something which was difficult for the big man to get out. His wicket brought CSK back in the match.
Personal records/Achievements:
MS Dhoni hit his first-ever boundary today against Sunil Narine.
Most 50-plus knocks for CSK since 2018: Faf du Plessis (9).
Highest score by a number 8 batsman in IPL: Pat Cummins’ 66, today.
Way ahead:
KKR will now play Rajasthan Royals on April 24 in Mumbai while CSK will play RCB at the same venue on April 25.
