Abu Dhabi: Though it was looking like an easy chase for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the fall of wickets in quick succession ended the match with a nail-biting finish.
Kolkata Knight Riders had struck on regular occasions to keep it tight as Chennai Super Kings are 40 runs away from a table-topping win in Abu Dhabi but T20 specialist Ravindra Jadeja’s scathing attack paved the way for the yellow army to win the match by 2 wickets.
Chasing 172, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis gave CSK a steady start.
While Ruturaj Gaikwad (40) and Faf du Plessis (43) jointly made CSK cross a hundred runs, Moeen Ali, Rayudu, and Suresh Raina made their double-digit contribution to reach 142.
The wickets of Raina and Dhoni in quick succession gave a nasty blow to the men in yellow as it looked like an evil entity was playing its part by uprooting the CSK’s performance.
Narine picked up two wickets in the last over but Jadeja’s late heroics in the 19th over was enough for CSK to win the match and reclaim the top spot in the points table.
Earlier, KKR captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first versus CSK in Abu Dhabi.
KKR went in unchanged from their last game while CSK brought in Sam Curran in place of Dwayne Bravo in Match 38 of the Indian Premier League (2021).
Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana ensured KKR set a daunting 172-run target versus CSK in Abu Dhabi. Despite losing their top-order inside the first 10 overs, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik, and Nitish Rana scored freely to get KKR to 171/6 in their 20 overs.
