A stunning 4th-wicket stand between skipepr Nitish Rana and in-form Rinku Singh powered Kolkata Knight Riders brilliant win over Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk Stadium on Sunday. This 99-run partnership overcame the powerplay setbacks. Both Rana and Singh hit half-centuries during their chase of a modest target of 145.
Chennai Super Kings, first crumbled in face of scintillating bowling attack by Knights, and later failed to capitalise on the powerplay lead. The win at Chepauk may not have improved the KKR’s NRR but it has kept their dreams of playoff berth alive. For CSK, there is no impact in their no.2 position in the IPL points table. The IPL match 61 also saw a rare sight of Dhoni losing a review. Today was not the day for home teams in the IPL. In match 60, which was played earlier in the day, visitors RCB defeated home team Rajasthan Royals by massive margin of 112 runs.
While Rana remained not out at 57 off 44 balls, the KKR captain slammed the winning shot to silence Chepauk! Rinku Singh, his partner in 4th-wicket stand, made 54 off 43 balls. This was a more mature innings by both Rana and Singh. They both played with lot of caution and kept KKR ticking. Some think that Pathirana dropping Rana’s catch changed the fate of game. However, when asked after the match, CSK captain MS Dhoni said that nobody can be blamed for today’s loss. CKS may be at no.2, but they would now need more wins and there won’t be any ‘automatic’ entry into the playoffs. KKR may have a slim chance but the hope floats for the Knights.
KKR’s cause was helped to a large extent by a superb bowling effort earlier by spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, who did superbly and picked up two wickets each. Rana and Rinku, both left-handers, showed necessary skills and patience on a tacky pitch to negate the impact of CSK spinners after the home team had posted a moderate 144 for six in 20 overs.
(With PTI inputs)
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