Ravindra Jadeja set it up with a miserly spell of 4-0-18-3 before skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad shepherded the chase with a fine unbeaten half-century (67, 58b, 9x4) to help Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets at the MAC Stadium here on Monday.
After electing to field, the CSK spin attack came to the fore on a typically slow Chepauk pitch where the ball gripped off the surface to restrict Knight Riders to 137 for nine.
In reply, Ruturaj (67, 58b, 9x4) showed his class playing some delectable shots through the off-side as he got his first half-century of the season. Rachin Ravindra gave the initial momentum, smashing Mitchell Starc for three boundaries in the third over. The CSK skipper joined the party when he hit left-arm spinner Anukul Roy for three boundaries, a delicate cut behind point sandwiched between two superb inside-out cover drives.
Daryl Mitchell took down Sunil Narine for six down the ground, followed by a reverse sweep to the off-side fence, and his 70-run stand with Ruturaj for the second wicket ensured the hosts were on track to win easily. The Knight Riders’ spinners couldn’t exert the same control, as dew played a part.
Earlier, the hosts started on the right note when Tushar Deshpande (three for 33) removed Phil Salt off the first ball of the innings, caught at backward point. However, Narine (27) continued to bat uninhibited as he and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (24) went after the Super Kings quicks in the PowerPlay as their side raced to 50 in the five overs.
But Jadeja pulled things back in the seventh over with a twin strike. The all-rounder had Raghuvanshi trapped leg-before while attempting a reverse sweep and then removed Narine, caught at long-off.
When Jadeja had Venkatesh Iyer mistiming a slog to midwicket in his next over, the Kolkata side slumped from 56 for one to 64 for four. Later, the pacers, led by Mustafizur Rahman (two for 22), backed up the spinners by effectively using cutters in the death overs, keeping the power-packed Knight Riders batting line-up quiet.
Once Deshpande got Rinku Singh and Andre Russell through change of pace, the visitors had to settle for a below-par total.
Scoreboard
Kolkata Knight Riders: Philip Salt c Ravindra Jadeja b Tushar Deshpande 0 Sunil Narine c M Theekshana b Ravindra Jadeja 27 Angkrish Raghuvanshi lbw b Ravindra Jadeja 24 Shreyas Iyer c Ravindra Jadeja b Mustafizur 34 Venkatesh Iyer c Daryl Mitchell b Ravindra Jadeja 3 Ramandeep Singh b M Theekshana 13 Rinku Singh b Tushar Deshpande 9 Andre Russell c Daryl Mitchell b Tushar Deshpande 10 Anukul Roy not out 3 Mitchell Starc c Rachin Ravindra b Mustafizur 0 Vaibhav Arora not out 1 Extras: (B-1,LB-4,W-6,NB-2) 13
Total: (for 9 wickets in 20 overs) 137
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-56, 3-60, 4-64, 5-85, 6-112, 7-127, 8-135, 9-135.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Tushar Deshpande 4-0-33-3, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-22-2, Shardul Thakur 3-0-27-0, Maheesh Theekshana 4-0-28-1, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-18-3, Rachin Ravindra 1-0-4-0.
Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra c Chakaravarthy b Vaibhav Arora 15 Ruturaj Gaikwad not out 67 Daryl Mitchell b Narine 25 Shivam Dube b Vaibhav Arora 28 MS Dhoni not out 1
Extras: (LB-2,W-3) 5
Total: (For 3 wickets in 17.4 overs) 141
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-97, 3-135.
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowling: Mitchell Starc 3-0-29-0, Vaibhav Arora 4-0-28-2, Anukul Roy 1.4-0-18-0, Sunil Narine 4-0-30-1, Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-26-0, Andre Russell 1-0-8-0.
Teams
Kolkata Knight Riders: Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (w), Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana.
