After going through a lean phase in the Indian Premier League V defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have picked up their performance and now are looking a serious contender for the play-offs after they beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in a last ball finish. Kolkata who now have two consecutive defeats are on the third spot whereas Chennai are on four positions.
KKR batting first up put a decent total of 158 on the board and it looked like CSK would reach it comfortably. But Kolkata did a good job to contain and they only lost in the last ball of the match after Dwayne Bravo hit a six of Rajat Bhatia to win the match.
Here are the hits and flops of the match.
Hits and flops of Chennai Super Kings:
Hits:
Partnership between Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay: The target of 159 which was easily achievable looked all the more easy by looking at how Hussey and Vijay started. They played a fluent innings at the top of the innings and knit a partnership of 97 in 10.2 overs. But once they were out things started to get difficult for them. Hussey scored 56 of 39 deliveries which included four fours and four sixes; whereas Vijay scored 36 off 25 balls and hit five fours and a six.
Dwayne Bravo: When he came into bats, odds were piled up high against them and with five runs required off the last ball he kept his cool to see Chennai home. Bravo who tried to heave the penultimate ball of the match missed it, and tension reached the zenith with all eyes set on him. But he made sure that he did not miss the next ball and his heave over the long-on had enough power to cross the ropes. His last ball six gave them an emphatic win over KKR also kept them in contention for the play-offs. He scored 11 off seven balls.
Shadab Jakati: Kolkata were cruising at 99 for no loss after 11.3 overs and it was Jakati who gave them the vital breakthrough after he bowled Gautam Gambhir for 62. It was this wicket that changed the course of the game and KKR who were on course to cross 180 could reach only 158.
Flops:
Ravindra Jadeja: The million dollar man flopped with the ball again. On a day when KKR batsmen were finding it tough to score runs he gave away 39 off his four overs at an economy rate of 9.75.
Hits and flops of Kolkata Knight Riders:
Hits:
Gautam Gambhir: He again led his team from the front. Kolkata skipper who is going through a great phase in the tournament played well again and took the attack early on in the innings. He scored 62 off 43 deliveries which included six fours and three sixes.
Sunil Deonarine: He was again toast of all the bowlers. Narine who bowled beautifully throughout the tournament did not fail in doing so in the last match. He was instrumental in giving Chennai the hiccups in their run chase. He bowled fours over and gave away just 14 by picking up two wickets.
Flops:
Yusuf Pathan: One of the biggest flops of the tournament, he failed again in the last match. He scored only 11 in eight deliveries.
By Indian Sports News Network
