Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube played at different tempos, but created a symphony as Chennai Super Kings paraded their batting might on Sunday night in a 49-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, awash with yellow shirts to support MS Dhoni’s team.
The result pitchforked Chennai Super Kings to the top of the league table with 10 points from seven games. It was their fourth away win this season, to go with one victory at home. Kolkata Knight Riders remained in eighth spot, and would hope for better results in the second half of their league campaign, when they are due to play four home games.
Chennai Super Kings batter home attack
Superbly as Ruturaj Gaikwad (35, 20 balls, two fours, three sixes) and Devon Conway (56, 40 balls, four fours, three sixes), the openers, played at the start of the game, sharing a 73-run partnership, it was the assault launched by Ajinkya Rahane (71 not out, 29 balls, six fours, five sixes) and Shivam Dube that saw Chennai blaze away to 126 runs in the final eight overs.
The visiting side gained a stranglehold on the game when Dube (50, 21 balls, two fours, five sixes) slammed Varun Chakravarthy for successive sixes almost as soon as he took strike. Rahane, who was a bit circumspect against the slow bowlers, relished the pace of Umesh Yadav and joined Dube in knocking the wind out of Kolkata’s sails.
It was critical that Conway, who rustled up his fourth successive half-century, and Rahane ensured that Chennai would not concede ground in the middle overs. Dube’s arrival changed the tempo of scoring so much that Kolkata Knight Riders were always going to chasing a tall score. Rahane rode on his timing and creativity to make his second half-century this season.
Even as 18 sixes and only 14 fours flowed from the willows of the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders mystified everyone by bringing in Andre Russell, their star all-rounder, to bowl only in the 16th over of the innings. Only Suyash Sharma looked the part on Sunday night, conceding just 29 runs in his four overs and castling Gaikwad with a googly.
Dhoni’s leadership flair come to the fore again
Much to the delight of the crowd, Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked in with just two deliveries left in the Chennai innings and was unable to make an impact. But he was spot on with his bowling changes, earning rewards each time he got a new bowler to come on. And he was able to end the game at a venue where he enjoyed so much success as a memorable winner.
How are MS Dhoni fan club members in Bengal gearing up to welcome CSK legend at Eden Gardens?
KKR gets off to a horror start
Facing an asking rate of 11.80 runs an over for an improbable win, Kolkata were pegged back by the loss of Sunil Narine and N Jagadeesan, their openers, in the first two overs to Akash Singh and Tushar Deshpande.
The left-handed duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana, the skipper, were forced to be mindful in the powerplay, and the asking rate went up to 14.61. Having adopted that mindset, one of them needed to bat deep in the innings but that was not to be. Iyer fell to the wiles and extra bounce of Moeen Ali, while Rana slogged Ravindra Jadeja only to find deep midwicket’s hands.
Jason Roy silences stands with blazing strokeplay
With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Kolkata’s fifth-wicket pair of Jason Roy and Rinku Singh bid fair to keep their team in the hunt with a 65-run stand in 6.1 overs. Roy, who did not open the innings because he had twisted an ankle when fielding, announced his arrival in the middle with three sixes off Moeen Ali to silence the noisy stands.
He muscled two more sixes as he blazed his way to a 19-ball half-century, but his team needed more of that. Rinku matched Roy’s strokeplay, being severe on Jadeja. However, Roy yorked himself when attempting a big shot against Maheesh Theekshana and returned to the dug-out after making 61 (26 balls, five fours, five sixes).
Missing home supporters
If Rana’s team thought they were playing an away game, they cannot be blamed. Not only was the deck loaded against the mystery spin twins, Chakravarthy and Narine, the vociferous Chennai supporters made it appear that the game was being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and not in the den of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Eden Gardens was showering its love and showing its respect to Dhoni, but Kolkata would have liked a bit more support and appreciation for Roy, who braved a painful ankle to strike some lusty blows square on either side of the pitch. Chennai Super Kings, on the contrary, were grateful for the wonderful response from Dhoni’s fans.