Match 61, Chennai, May 14, 2023, 07:30 PM

144/6(20.0ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets

Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
57
44
6
1
129.54
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
3
27
3
9
Man of the Match
Rinku Singh
Commentry
Right then, that's it from the coverage of this game. The action in the 16th edition of the Indian T20 League continues on Monday 15th May. In this match, Gujarat will be locking horns against Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first ball will be at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as you all know you can join us early for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!
Rinku Singh wins the Player of the Match award for the way he took his team near the victory line. He says that they decided to attack the loose balls and try to knock it around the park for singles. Tells that he bats in a similar position in domestic cricket and is used to bat up the order as well. Informs that he spends times in the gym, looks after his diet and is glad that it is showing in his game as well. Ends by saying he has put in a lot of hard work behind his success.
Nitish Rana the captain of Kolkata says that he had mentioned at the toss that all departments need to do well and they will win which is what happened. Gives credit to Chandrakant Pandit for opting to use the heavy roller as he was against it as he felt that the pitch will break and the spinners will get turn but that did not happen. Claims that it was because of the spinners that they won the game as they did really well and used the conditions to their advantage. Explains that they decided that either he or Rinku Singh will hold one end and if they do that they will get over the finsih line. Feels that the everyone enjoys the home advantage except Kolkata and feels that they need to keep adapting to various situations which is a quality needed in a good player.
Stay tuned for the presentation...
Sunil Narine is in for a quick chat. He says that the pitch is suited for spin and ground is pretty large so he was trying to use the conditions to his advantage. Explains that the top-order batters had a little leeway to go hard as they bat deep but they need to play the situation better. Mentions that they always try to do things differently and try to do their best in the middle.
MS Dhoni, the captain of Chennai says that it is one of those games where you win the toss and bat first but when we came out in the second innings and the first ball was bowled, we realised that it was a 180 wicket which you can not get in the first inning. Explains that there is no certainty of how the wicket will play so the decision becomes tricky. Adds that if they would have bowled first and there was no dew in the second inning, chasing 160 would have become tough. Claims that he does not blame the players as the conditions were such and they did their best. Admits that he has spoken a lot with Shivam Dube but that is between them and he is very happy with what he has done. He hopes that he can keep improving game-to-game and keep getting runs. Ends by saying that Deepak Chahar is someone who swings the ball and knows where to keep the fielders with the experience to know where to bowl when it is not swinging.
Earlier in the game, MS Dhoni's decision of batting first could well have backfired when the Kolkata spinners dominated in the middle overs and left the host teetering at 75-5, that too, after they made a promising start. That's when Dube and Jadeja joined forces and their stand of 68 runs helped Chennai to head into the break with a fighting total on the scoreboard. Although, it proved to be quite a comfortable chase for Kolkata, as they got over the line with 9 balls to spare.
Chennai were off to a dream start with the ball, all thanks to Deepak Chahar. The seamer caused all sorts of problems to the opposition with the new ball. He picked up three wicket in his three overs up top, and put his side comfortably on the driving seat. Although, once the spinners came into play the match took a wild turn, but the ball did not turn for the Chennai spinners on this venomous track. As Varun Chakaravarthy mentioned at the half-way mark, that the wicket got flat as the first innings came to an end, and we saw a similar pattern during Kolkata's chase as well. It was tricky at the start for the Kolkata batters to get their eye-in, but Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh stitched a 99-run stand which got their team near the victory line.
With the way this game started who would've thought Kolkata would get over the line, that too, quite convincingly. We have just witnessed a commanding chase from the visitors and they have won the game against all the odds here. We have seen Rinku Singh the game-finisher on multiple occasions, but tonight we saw the the skipper of Kolkata get his team over the line.
In over# 19
4
1wd
0
1
Tushar Deshpande 25/0(3.3)
18.3
4
FOUR! The skipper has taken his team over the finish line with a boundary! Tushar Deshpande bowls this full and wide outside off. Nitish Rana looks to hit through the line and gets a thick outside edge that flies towards third man for four runs. Kolkata have won the game with six wickets in hand and with 10 balls to spare as they keep their qualification hopes alive.
18.3
1wd
WIDE! Tries to keep this away from the batter and bowls another full toss outside the tram line on the off side. Nitish Rana leaves this one alone and the umpire calls this wide.
18.2
.
Bowls a slower delivery full and outside the off pole. Nitish Rana looks to go hard at the ball but gets beaten on the outside edge.
18.1
1
Bowls a low full toss at stumps. Andre Russell knocks this towards long on for a single.
In over# 18
2
0
1
1
0
5wd
0W
Matheesha Pathirana 23/0(3)
17.6
2
Full delivery once again on the pads. Nitish Rana flicks this towards deep square leg and picks up a couple of runs. Just 4 runs needed now.
17.5
.
Goes really full once again and just outside off. Nitish Rana hits it straight to Moeen Ali at cover and this time they do not look for a single.
17.4
1
Matheesha Pathirana goes full, outside off. Andre Russell drives it through covers for one run.
17.3
1
A low full toss outside the off pole. Nitish Rana drills this to deep cover and takes one.