The Kolkata Knight Riders' three-match winning streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended with a seven-wicket defeat to the Chennai Super Kings on Monday. CSK, the defending champions, bounced back from two consecutive losses with a victory at Chepauk Stadium.
KKR Batters Struggle
KKR's batting faltered early as Phil Salt was dismissed for a golden duck on the first ball of the match. Sunil Narine, who had been in good form, managed only 27 runs before falling to CSK's spinners, who took wickets at regular intervals.
Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed 24 runs before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja, who finished 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 three and two 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.
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CSK Clinches Victory
Chasing a modest 138, CSK opener Rachin Ravindra attempted to secure a quick win. However, the New Zealand all-rounder departed for just 15 runs.
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led by example for the hosts. His 58-ball 67* ensured the defending champions secured the two points. His innings were supported by another New Zealander, Daryll Mitchell, who scored 25 runs.
Impact substitute Shivam Dube's 28-run cameo propelled CSK's innings to another gear, finishing things off strongly. As is often the case, a CSK victory wouldn't be complete without MS Dhoni entering the fray. With three runs needed off 19 balls, Dhoni came in and finished the match, delighting the Chepauk crowd who were eager to see their captain bat.
Chennai moved to third position in the points table, comfortably sitting in playoff spots above the Lucknow Super Giants, who won their third match on Sunday against the Gujarat Titans.
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