The 49th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was scheduled between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
To increase their chances of qualification in the IPL Playoffs, KKR had to beat CSK to remain in contention with the other teams.
Looking at the spinners in the team, CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. Openers Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana added 53 runs for the first wicket at a rapid pace. Gill smashed an attractive 26 off 17, while Rana anchored KKR’s innings with his exemplary knock of 87, which came off just 61 deliveries.
At a strike-rate of 142, Rana entertained viewers with 10 boundaries and four sixes, as he kept losing partners at the other end.
The finishing impetus was provided by Dinesh Karthik as he raced to 21 off just 10 deliveries, with his three fours. For CSK Lungi Ngidi (2/34) was the pick of the bowlers, with spinners Karn Sharma (1/35), Mitchell Santner (1/30) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/20) sharing a wicket each. KKR posted an above par score of 172-5 in their 20 overs.
Chasing 173, Shane Watson (14) and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a positive start to the Super Kings, who intended to spoil KKR’s party.
It was the youngster who shepherded the CSK run-chase with his second consecutive half-century in the tournament. The stylish right-hander laid the platform with his fine knock of 72, which came off just 53 deliveries.
Ambati Rayudu gave ample support to ‘Man of the Match’ Gaikwad at the other end with his breezy knock of 38. Spells from Pat Cummins (2/31) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/20) brought some spice back into the contest.
Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja had the uphill task of chasing down 30 off the last two overs. However, ‘Sir’ Jadeja decimated Lockie Ferguson by smashing 20 runs in the penultimate over.
CSK, then, required 7 off 2 deliveries with Jadeja facing Kamlesh Nagerkotti. The Indian international ascertained his class by smashing the last two deliveries for a couple of gigantic maximums.
Jadeja’s knock proved to the difference between the two sides as he ran ruckus with his 31 off just 11 deliveries. He hit two boundaries and three maximum in the process. This is now the fourth occasion when a game was decided with a maximum in the final delivery of the match. In the end, it was a hard-fought five-wicket win for CSK.
Brief Scores:
CSK – 178/4 in 20 Overs (Gaikwad 72, Chakravarthy 2/20) beat KKR – 172/5 (Rana 87, Ngidi 2/35) by five wickets.
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