Kolkata bowlers outclass their Chennai counterparts in battle of spinners as visitors restrict first M S Dhoni and co. 6. Nitish and Rinku then put on a match-winning fourth wicket partnership of 99 to put on 144 for 6 as the hosts’ spinners chased down the target with 9 balls to spare.
The impressive win was Kolkata’s sixth of the season as they moved into a 12-point haul on the points table. Chennai, on the other hand, despite the defeat, are still on the second spot with 15 points.
01:48
IPL 2023: Clinical KKR beat CSK by 6 wickets
Rana remained unbeaten on 57 off 44 balls, while Rinku scored 54 off 43 balls as KKR chased down the chase after losing their first three wickets for 33 runs in the fifth over.
KKR were 147 for four in 18.3 overs, with Rana leading the way after taking advantage of the opportunity.
KKR’s cause was largely helped by a brilliant bowling effort by the spin duo of Varun and Narine, who put in a stellar performance and took two wickets each.
as it happened
Rana and Rinku, both left-handed batsmen, showed the necessary skill and composure on a difficult pitch to negate the impact of CSK spinners as the home side posted 144 for six in 20 overs.
The match-winning partnership between Rana and Rinku ended when Rinku was run out by a direct hit from Moeen Ali.
CSK’s spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Mahesh Tikshana and Moeen – could do no harm after Deepak Chahar provided the early breakthroughs to leave KKR at 33 for 3.
CSK suffered an early blow when Chahar dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz (1) as he failed to keep his square-drive down and was caught well close to the boundary by Tushar Deshpande.
After six overs, KKR were 46 for three, with Chahar taking all three wickets to fall – Gurbaj, Jason Roy (12) and Venkatesh Iyer (9).
Rana got a reprieve on 18 when Mathisha Pathirana dropped a running catch from Moeen off Moeen.
In the 13th over bowled by Moeen, Rana played two brilliant shots on the off side to take a boundary and this was followed by some more blistering strikes from Mahesh Thikshana in the 15th over.
Earlier, the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to leave the order backfired as CSK kept losing wickets at regular intervals and restricted themselves to modest scores.
Dhoni, who came to bat at number 7, remained unbeaten after scoring 2 runs in 3 balls.
Electing to bat, CSK were 72 for five in the 11th over before Shivam Dube underlined his usefulness, hitting a 34-ball 48 (1×4, 3x6s) to give the hosts a one-wicket victory over Ravindra Jadeja (24 20 on the run) helped somewhat in the company.
The duo shared a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket to take CSK close to 150, which at one stage looked out of reach on a sluggish pitch.
The spin duo of Narine (2/15) and Chakravarthy (2/36) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR and were ably supported by Shardul Thakur (3-0-15-1) and Vaibhav Arora (1/30). ,
CSK were 99 for five after 16 overs as the KKR bowlers, especially the spinners, kept things tight and struck at regular intervals.
Narine and Chakraborty did the damage in the middle of the innings before Dube and Jadeja started a comeback.
After a brisk start, Chakravarthy broke through for KKR, dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad (17, 13 balls, 2×4) in the fourth over to edge Arora as CSK were dismissed for 31.
Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane kept the scoring pace going, scoring 52 runs in the first six overs despite their lackluster performances.
Conway was relieved when he overturned an LBW decision via DRS after being dismissed by Chakravarthy. Rahane fell trying to force the pace, unable to clear Chakraborty’s boundary.
Conway pulled Rinku Singh in the deep off Thakur after scoring 30 runs. Ambati Rayudu’s poor season continued as he fell for just 4 runs to get Narine his first wicket.
The West Indies spinner then removed the struggling Moeen (1) to leave CSK at 72 for 5 in the 11th over.
(With inputs from PTI)Watch IPL 2023: Clinical KKR beat CSK by 6 wickets