So, that is it from this game. Chennai have succumbed to their 4th loss this season. Kolkata with this win move to 3rd in the points table. The action in the league continues on 8th October 2020, Thursday, as Hyderabad take on Punjab. That game begins at 1800 local (1400 GMT). We hope to see you for that one. Till then, goodbye and take care!
No prizes for guessing, as for his wonderful match-winning innings of 81, Rahul Tripathi is named the Man of the Match. Tripathi says that it is something like a dream come true. States that he was prepared for both the roles - opening or lower down the order. Reckons that any good batsman has to prepare and adjust accordingly. Rahul says that playing for Pune earlier and then coming to Kolkata is special and thrilling. Feels that performing in front of Shah Rukh Khan was really special.
Dinesh Karthik, the winning captain, says that there are some key players for Kolkata and reckons Narine is a very key player who has delivered across seasons for them. 2-3 bad games do not matter. Karthik states that the good thing with Russell is that he is very versatile. Overall on the batting front, Karthik reckons that they are very fluid and feels that the teams which have a fluid batting line-up have done well in the past.
Stay tuned for the presentation as we will hear from Kolkata skipper, Dinesh Karthik and also find out who our Man of the Match is.
Kolkata's star all-rounder who is also all smiles at the moment, Andre Russell, is up for a chat. Andre Russell says that finding a niche towards the end was great and reckons that it is the beauty of being an allrounder. He says that he is confident. States that teams go through low patches. Finishes off by saying that he is still finding his right timing.
MS Dhoni, Chennai's captain, says that in the middle overs, Kolkata bowled 2-3 good overs, where Chennai also lost wickets. That is where they lost the plot, he feels. When bowling, Dhoni states that Curran bowled well. Other than a few overs in the middle, he reckons that the bowling overall was very good. Says that the batting unit has let the bowlers down. Dhoni says that there were hardly any boundaries towards the end. States that there was no strategy on how to adapt if yorkers or other variations would be bowled by the opposition towards the end.
Earlier in the evening after opting to bat, Kolkata too struggled with the bat but their new opener for this game, Rahul Tripathi, continued from where he left off in the last game. His 81 off 51 balls helped Kolkata post 167! A total that looked 15 runs short especially after the way the first half of their innings played out but in the end proved to be good enough. Chennai bowlers did well to restrict Kolkata to 167. Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur and Karn Sharma, who was playing his first game of the season all impressed as the trio picked 2 wickets each.
What a brilliant bowling effort from Kolkata. A lot of questions were raised about Karthik's captaincy in the last game but DK was spot on with his bowling tweaks. Just like Chennai, Kolkata too managed to pull things back and strangle runs in the second half of the innings. The ploy to give Cummins 3 overs up top worked as the spinners did the damage in the middle and choked the runs. The spin duo of Narine and Chakravarthy gave away just 59 runs in their combined 8 overs. Not just that, they also managed to pick the big wicket of Watson and Dhoni respectively. Nagarkoti once again impressed and got a wicket to show for it. Russell did a fantastic job in the end with his heavy deliveries which were hard to put away. Cummins was the only bowler who went wicketless but he was economical, which built the pressure. All in all, a comprehensive bowling display from the two-time champions.
Chasing 168, after a quickfire start by the openers, the Men in Yellow lost their in-form man, Faf du Plessis. Shane Watson though continued from where he left off in the last game and scored a solid 50 off 40 deliveries. Chennai were cruising in the chase by the end of the 12th over. They needed 68 in the remaining 8 overs and had 9 wickets in hand. It looked like a stroll in the park for a side which has Watson, Dhoni, Curran, Jadeja and Jadhav. But once Watson departed, the Men in Yellow once again took the foot off the gas. A mistake that has cost them in the past and it came back to cost them again. After Watson's departure, they took the foot off the gas and to make matters worse, Dhoni's departure made the task impossible. In the end, the 3-time champions came up short once again in a chase this season.
What a heist from Kolkata! Or was it a self-dug grave from Chennai? Depends which way you look at it. Nonetheless, it is Dinesh Karthik and his troops who have managed to pull off a big win from the jaws of defeat and have got an outstanding win in their kitty.
In over# 1
4
4
6
1
0
0
Andre Russell 18/1(2)
19.6
4
FOUR! Another boundary, but the same point - too little too late. Full and outside off, Jadeja creams this through covers. Does not matter as KOLKATA WIN BY 10 RUNS!
19.5
4
FOUR! Goes for four this time. 150 up for Chennai with that. But again, just as we said earlier, too little too late. Short ball, Jadeja ferociously pulls this to the deep square leg fence.
19.4
6
SIX! Wonderful shot but a little too late from Jadeja. Shortish outside off, he smokes this over point for a maximum. 19 needed in 2 balls. Extras and a boundary might help, if they happen.
19.3
1
Another excellent delivery from Russell. A yorker again, outside off, driven through cover-point for just the single.
19.2
.
Another dot delivery. Good length ball around off, Jadhav looked to work that on the leg side but misses and gets hit on the body. 26 needed from 4 balls now.
19.1
.
Excellent start for Kolkata. Yorker, outside off, dug out straight to cover.
In over# 1
0
4
1
0
4
1
Sunil Narine 31/1(4)
18.6
.
A dot to finish. Excellent from Sunil Narine. Bowls a flatter ball on the pads, Jadeja looked to flick but misses. It comes off his pads to the off side and Narine rushes in to collect that. 26 needed in the last over.