Match 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) witnessed Kolkata Knight Riders' 3-match unbeaten streak break at the Chepauk. Kolkata fell to an 7-wicket defeat away from home against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings on April 7.
The win saw Chennai get their title defense back on track with a crucial win after conceding 2 defeats on the trot.
CSK Spinners On Top
Batting first, KKR's Phil Salt faced disappointment as he was dismissed for a golden duck on the first delivery of the match. His partner in form, Sunil Narine, managed only 27 runs before falling victim to the pressure imposed by CSK's spinners, who took wickets at regular intervals.
Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed 24 runs before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja, who concluded his spell with impressive figures of 3/18 in front of a lively Chepauk crowd. Mahesh Theekshana also delivered a fine performance, claiming 1/28. Despite the dominance of spin bowling, pacers Tushar Deshpande and Mustafizur Rahman secured 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
KKR captain Shreyas Iyer emerged as the highest scorer of the innings with 34 runs, guiding the team to a total of 137/9 in their allotted 20 overs. The two-time champions will aim to emulate CSK's bowling performance to preserve their unbeaten streak in the league.
Ruturaj leads from the front
Chasing a modest 138, CSK opener Rachin Ravindra did try to secure the win as quickly as possible. However, the Kiwi all-rounder had to depart for just 15 on the night courtesy of a Vaibhav Arora delivery.
It was skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad who led by example on the hosts. His 58-ball 67* made sure that the defending champions would go home with the 2 points in their bag. His innings were supported by another Kiwi batter Daryll Mitchell who scored 25 on the night.
Impact substitute Shivam Dube's 28-run cameo took CSK's innings to another gear to finish things off strongly for the Men in Yellow. Any CSK victory would be incomplete without MS Dhoni entering the scheme of things. With 3 needed off 19, Dhoni came in and put the cherry on the cake in front of an ecstatic Chepauk crowd who wanted to see their Thala with the bat.
Chennai moved to third position in the points table, sitting comfortably in the playoff spots above Lucknow Super Giants who got their 3rd win yesterday against Gujarat Titans.
Also Read: IPL 2024: Chennai Bowlers Decimate KKR Lineup, Restrict Visitors To 137/9