Chennai: Defending champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) recorded their third home victory of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad made a welcome return to form with an unbeaten 67 off 58 balls.
Following a brilliant spell of 3-18 from Ravindra Jadeja, and outstanding spells of 3-33 and 2-22 from Mustafizur Rahman and Tushar Deshpande to limit KKR to 137/9, Gaikwad mesmerised the adoring home crowd with a barrage of delightful boundaries with his bat to carry the modest chase with 14 balls remaining.
Gaikwad had scored 88 runs in four games prior to this one, with a best score of 46. However, he stood tall when it mattered and relied on time in addition to breaching the gaps to secure a comfortable victory for CSK, coupled with the dew pouring in. In addition, he had assistance from impact player Shivam Dube and superb 20s from Daryl Mitchell in ending KKR’s winning run.
Rachin Ravindra, chasing 138, got things going in the third over by hitting three fours off Mitchell Starc via an on-drive, loft, and heave. However, Ravindra misplayed a ball to the fielder off Vaibhav Arora in an attempt to go long-on. On the other end, Gaikwad ramped Arora for four before he took left-arm spinner Anukul Roy for three boundaries, all of which had a delicate touch. With perfect timing and accuracy, he pulled out to make room for driving three times in the congested off-side gap.
After that, Gaikwad crushed Arora for two consecutive fours; CSK made 52/1 in Power Play after a punch drive and a vicious cut. With Ajinkya Rahane recovering from a calf strain, Mitchell began his ascent to the top of the scoreboard by dancing down the pitch to loft Sunil Narine for six, then reverse-sweeping him for four more runs.
In order to keep the scoreboard moving, Gaikwad and Mitchell didn’t take unnecessary risks, giving Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy a few neat overs. With a pair of wickets off Chakaravarthy, Gaikwad reached his first fifty of the year, but Narine ended the second wicket stand at 70 off 55 balls by putting an approaching Mitchell through the gate with flight and turn.
As the finish line approached, Starc gave a pulled four to each of Gaikwad and Dube. Then, the latter hit Chakaravarthy for strong sixes over long off and down the ground. Dube took Arora deep mid-wicket for another six over with great force, and the bowler crushed his off stump. Following M.S. Dhoni’s single, Gaikwad ensured that CSK secured their eighth victory over KKR at Chepauk by slapping Roy through cover for four runs to cap off the chase.
Quick scores:
Chennai Super Kings 141/3 in 17.4 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 67 not out, Shivam Dube 28; Vaibhav Arora 2-28, Sunil Narine 1-30) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders 137/9 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 34, Sunil Narine 27; Ravindra Jadeja 3-18, Tushar Deshpande 3-33) by seven wickets.