Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Wednesday, May 7, former champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by two wickets, to register a consolation win in match number 57 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After a four-wicket haul from Noor Ahmad helped CSK restrict KKR at 179/6 in their 20 overs, maiden IPL 50 from Dewald Brevis and a 40-ball 45 from Shivam Dube guided CSK to a two-wicket win.
For the unversed, the captain of KKR, Ajinkya Rahane, won the toss and decided to bat first. However, Rahane’s decision did not prove to pay any dividends as they struggled to get runs on the board with the skipper leading the scoring charts with his 33-ball 48. After Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed early in the inning, Rahane joined Sunil Narine at the crease to stitch a 50-plus runs stand. However, a brilliant stumping effort from MS Dhoni, paced way for Narine back into the dugout.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has looked decent at number four, also had a forgettable day and Rahane was joined by Manish Pandey, who scored an unbeaten 36 off 28 deliveries. Andre Russell also played a quick cameo of 21-ball 38 and helped the KKR scoreboard cross the 170-run mark on a slow pitch. For the visitors, Noor Ahmad starred with the bowling, picking a four wicket haul, whereas Anshul Kamboj and Ravindra Jadeja got one each tp their name.
CSK chase 180-run target for the first time since 2019
In the run-chase, the two openers were dismissed cheaply, unable to get some scores to their name. Debutant Urvil Patel, who was recently signed as injured Vansh Bedi’s replacement, scored a 11-ball 31 with Varun Chakravarthy cutting short his stay with a brilliant catch at the third point. Ravichandran Ashwin, who walked out as a night watchman, could not produce a good knock as he was dismissed for just eight runs.
Thereafter, Dewald Brevis took the inning forward, hitting his maiden IPL half-century, hitting five boundaries which included two fours and three sixes. Shivam Dube, who walked out as an impact player, replacing Matheesha Pathirana, also played a sluggish inning of 45 and was dismissed off Vaibhav Arora’s over with Rinku Singh taking an easy catch.
With only eight needed off the final over, the onus was on MS Dhoni and Anshul Kamboj. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter, who earlier called it his home ground, just did his usual things, hitting a six off Andre Russell’s over and Anshul Kamboj smashed a six to finish of the game in style and get a consolation win under their belt.
