Chennai Super Kings, on Thursday, beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets to deal a huge blow to the latter’s playoff hopes. The defeat was the seventh one in 13 games this season for KKR. CSK, on the other hand, registered their fifth win in 13 games.
Asked to bat first, the Kolkata-based outfit posted 172 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. Nitish Rana top-scored for the side, scoring a fine 87. His knock came off 61 balls and was studded with ten fours and four sixes. The southpaw added 53 runs with Shubman Gill for the first wicket to give KKR a good start.
In reply, CSK chased down the total on the very last ball of the match. With seven runs needed from the final two balls, Ravindra Jadeja hit Kamlesh Nagarkoti for two sixes to seal a thrilling game for his side. Before him, Ruturaj Gaikwad had laid the foundation with a fine 72-run knock.
Eoin Morgan’s reaction:
Speaking at the end of the game, KKR captain Eoin Morgan rued losing the toss and bowling when there was dew on the field. He was also all praises for the way the way his team batted and had a word of praise for the bowlers too.
“I think we played really well there, just on the wrong side of the toss. The dew from about the 8th over was really challenging,” said Eoin Morgan.
“We improved on our batting (as compared to the previous games). Our bowlers absolutely gave it their everything. We have one game left, and still have a very little chance. We felt we were right in the game (at the halfway stage),” he added.
“They (Narine and Varun) are two fantastic spinners. I can’t fault anyone’s effort tonight. He (Nagarkoti) didn’t have enough runs to defend. He’s a young guy, he will take it on the chin and move forward. Looking forward to the next game against Royals,” said Eoin Morgan.