CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 49 runs in match number 33 of the 2023 Indian Premier League played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Chasing a mammoth 236 runs, KKR were restricted to 186 for eight with Sri Lanka’s pace-spin combination of Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana once again playing a dominant role with the ball.
Mystery spinner Theekshana returned splendid figures of two for 32 while paceman Pathirana had the satisfaction of capturing the key wicket of Andre Russell for nine runs.
Earlier, Theekshana slowed down KKR’s run rate by removing the top scorer Jason Roy, who looked dangerous having plundered 61 runs from just 26 balls with the help of five sixes and five boundaries.
Roy, who had injured himself while fielding, then came out all guns blazing hitting three consecutive sixes off Moeen Ali.
But Ravindra Jadeja made an impact straightaway as he had Rana caught at deep mid-wicket after being hit for a four off the previous ball as KKR hobbled to 76 for four at the halfway mark.
Roy brought up his fifty, off just 19 balls, with a slashed four to third man off Pathirana. Roy cracked a couple of fours off Theekshana but the Sri Lankan spinner bounced back hard to clean him up with a yorker.
Rinku Singh tried to put up a fight, bringing up his fifty with a six, off Pathirana but the equation was out of his reach as well, as KKR fell short by 49 runs. Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 53 off 33 balls with four sixes and three fours.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane hit an unbeaten 71 off 29 balls while Shivam Dube scored 51 off 20 as CSK posted 233 for four in their 20 overs after they were put into bat.
Devon Conway also contributed with his 56-run knock. Kulwant Khejroliya scalped two wickets but leaked 44 runs in his quota of four overs.
The win helped CSK take the top spot in the IPL 2023 table with 10 points to their credit.
Chief scores:
Chennai Super Kings: 235/4 in 20 overs (Raturaj Gaikwad 35, Devon Conway 56, Ajinkya Rahane 71 n.o, Shivam Dube 50, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/44)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 186/8 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 20, Nitish Rana 27, Jason Roy 61, Rinku Singh 53 n.o, Tushar Deshpande 2/43, Maheesh Theekshana 2/32).
