IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 22nd Match - Who Said What?

Kolkata Knight Riders’ unbeaten run came to an end following a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings. They started in a poor fashion, and that eventually became a template, as the visitors were never in control of the match. Phil Salt got out in the first delivery of the match but yet, Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi built a solid partnership to keep the ship sailing. However, once they got out, wickets started falling like a house of cards.

They struggled massively in the middle and strike rate was a major issue. None of the batters could impress as the Shreyas Iyer-led side posted 137 runs on board in the first innings. With the ball, Ravindra Jadeja had an excellent night, as the spinner picked up three wickets, while Tushar Deshpande too had the same number of dismissals in his bag. Mustafizur Rahman picked up two wickets in his final over, which helped the pacer solidify his place at the top of the IPL Purple Cap race.

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When it came to the chase, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad reigned supreme. The 27-year-old took some time to settle down as he ended up scoring 67* runs off 58 deliveries. Shivam Dube played a cameo of 28 runs off 18 deliveries as CSK in the end won the match pretty comfortably. With the win, CSK remain fourth on the points table, while KKR remain second.

Talking Points

1. KKR failed to read the surface

Ahead of the game, it was believed that Chepauk would provide a high-scoring affair. However, the surface changed completely after the powerplay, and KKR batters failed to adjust to that. They went for glory shots, which eventually cost them wickets, and put them under more pressure. The surface was more about dealing in singles and doubles with boundaries here and there but KKR couldn’t decipher that.

2. Box Office Jadeja

Jadeja’s form was a bit of a concern early on but he is slowly getting into the right zone. Against KKR, the all-rounder picked up three wickets and caught two catches as he became the first cricketer in IPL history to complete 1000 runs, pick 100 wickets and catch 100. His form is a good sign for the national team, as Jadeja remains in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup.

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3. Shivam Dube continues to send messages to selectors

On a night in which everyone will talk about Gaikwad, Dube did his job perfectly and helped CSK win comfortably. He is in incredible form in IPL 2024 and that puts pressure on selectors as remains one of the favourites to feature in the T20 World Cup. So far, Dube has scored 176 runs in five matches, at a strike rate of 160.

Who Said What?

Losing skipper Shreyas Iyer said:

It's deafening out here, but I'll try to express. We got a phenomenal start in the powerplay, but we lost consecutive wickets. We weren't able to assess the conditions quickly after the powerplay, scoring runs wasn't easy. They (CSK) know the conditions pretty well, they bowled according to their plans. Wasn't easy (for the new batters) to go after them from the first ball. We were trying to construct the innings, but it didn't fall in place according to the plan. The wicket changed after the powerplay. We were in a comfortable place and we thought 160-170 was a good score, but we lost momentum. We have to go back to the drawing board and got to learn from that. I am glad this happened at the start of the tournament. When we go back, we know our home conditions pretty well. We need to analyse the situations and need to make the best use of it.

Winning skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said:

Little nostalgic for me. During my first IPL fifty, similar situation, Mahi bhai was with me and we finished the match. Wicket was slightly tricky, didn't want to put the side under pressure. Was a 150-160 wicket. With this team I don't need to tell anything to anyone. In T20 sometimes you need little bit of luck to get going.

POTM Ravindra Jadeja said:

Always enjoy my bowling here. Was just looking to bowl in good areas. I've practiced a lot here - if you bowl in good areas, it helps you. Takes time for visiting team to settle down and plan something. Difficult for them to come here and identify the surface.