It was the battle of the heavyweights as Kolkata Knight Riders took on Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens in the 33rd match of the IPL 2018. CSK, that has been the team of the league so far, couldn’t get the better of the hosts as KKR cruised to a rather comfortable victory.
Batting first after losing the toss, CSK were off to a flier courtesy Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson. The duo added 48 runs for the first wicket and the No.3 batsman Suresh Raina too made a sizeable contribution. At the halfway stage, they had raced off to 90/1 but the hosts struck thrice in a quick succession to drag the game back in their favor.
MS Dhoni, who has been rolling the clock back in the league so far, was at it again and struck some lusty blows at the death. His knock of 43 from 25 balls included 4 sixes and because of his efforts, the visitors ended up at 177/5.
KKR got off to a rollicking start with 2 sixes by Chris Lynn in the first over but Lungi Ngidi saw the back of him in the same over. Sunil Narine played in his usual demeanor and scored 32 from 20 balls. Despite 3 wickets falling inside 7 overs, they had powered their way ahead of the required run rate.
The youngster Shubman Gill rose to the occasion and compiled a crafty half-century. Rinku Singh hung in there for a while but his departure proved to be a blessing in disguise for KKR as the skipper Dinesh Karthik made his way out. Along with Gill, he safely took his team past the line and won the match by 6 wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Match Summary
Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to bowl first
Chennai Super Kings: 177/5 in 20 overs
MS Dhoni 43* (25), Shane Watson 36 (25)
Sunil Narine 20/2 (4), Piyush Chawla 35/2 (4)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 180/4 in 17.4 overs
Shubman Gill 57* (36), Dinesh Karthik 45* (18)
Harbhajan Singh 20/1 (3), KM Asif 32/1 (3)
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 6 wickets
Player of the Match: Sunil Narine
Here’s are some of the best tweets that surfaced during the game
The support for #CSK on the road has been one of the events of #IPL2018 for me. Much of it is down to the Dhoni factor. Only comparison I can think of is Sachin & #MI in #IPL1 back in 2008
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 3, 2018
Normally the Eden Gardens is a sea of purple. But lots and lots of yellow in here. And they have had a bit to cheer already! #KKRvCSK
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 3, 2018
Most sixes in IPL 2018:
24* DHONI
23 Gayle, ABD, Russell
21 Watson
20 Pant, Rayudu#KKRvCSK— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 3, 2018
MS Dhoni becomes the second batsman to hit 150-plus sixes for CSK in IPL after Suresh Raina. #KKRvCSK
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) May 3, 2018
A minute ago it was 3.3M viewing in Hotstar. Thala walks in and it's suddenly 4.5M. #Dhoni #CSK #WhistlePodu #KKRvCSK pic.twitter.com/SSGo0bxScF
— Prabhu (@Cricprabhu) May 3, 2018
Dhoni is yet to hit a boundary off Narine in IPL, facing 59 balls. #KKRvCSK
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/SirIshantSharma/status/992083648835923968
Fan Comes Down To Touch MS Dhoni's Feet. Just Another Moment For MS Dhoni. He Might Be Used To It. Happened Umpteen Number Of Times. 💪🚁🙏 #KKRvCSK #KKRvsCSK #Dhoni pic.twitter.com/4gAKDkytn9
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) May 3, 2018
How often will you see spinners bowling 18-19-20th overs in a T20 game? Also, wondering when #CSK will start thinking of sending Bravo ahead of Jadeja… #KKRvCSK #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 3, 2018
Shubman Gill !!!! Another India U19 player lighting up the #IPL ……….
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 3, 2018
What a delightful player young man Shubman Gill is. Congrats #KKR they back on track in style. #IPL2018
— arjun rampal (@rampalarjun) May 3, 2018
Calm & collected win like Captain @Dineshkarthik himself & my babies gaining in every match @realshubmangill @shivammavi23 &Narine is Narine
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 3, 2018
Come to think of it, Narine as MOM is mot juste: bowled superbly, made valuable contribution at the top
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 3, 2018
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