IPL 2018: Match 33, KKR vs CSK - Rating of the Match

To start with, luck favoured the cricketers and the supporters for the reason that heavens didn’t open up despite forecasts of the same throughout the day and both teams played their allotted overs. The bad news was that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were faced with the danger of losing two full points, which wouldn’t have been the case had rain imposed itself.

On the contrary, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got the opportunity to propel their chances of qualification. The fate of the match somewhat depended on the toss as CSK’s ferocity as a chasing side is an open secret. The Knights couldn’t have afforded another jolt following Nitish Rana’s unfortunate back spasms. The coin was tossed up, so was KKR’s fortunes in the game.

Dhoni finished expertly amidst spinners’ domination

Fortunately enough, the coin favoured Dinesh Karthik and he somewhat nullified Chennai’s strength by electing to field first. KKR spinners troubled MS Dhoni’s men on a batting paradise like the Chepauk. Eden Gardens turned out to be much slower and the tweakers ensured that the opposition wasn’t allowed to run away with the game as they have done on so many occasions.

The spin trio of Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav were hard to decipher. They churned out the wickets, just when a partnership threatened. The likes of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina tried to hit out only to get out. The visitors eventually scored 177 runs, but the fact that MS Dhoni was the primary reason behind it can’t be dismissed out of proportion.

He was a touch slow to start with, maybe in a quest to decode the nuances of the pitch. However, he has been synonymous to the word ‘assurance’ and rightly so, especially the way he has compiled the knocks in this edition of the IPL. He wound up to take the bowling to the cleaners and though the home side restricted him to some extent, they couldn’t stop him from going at a strike rate of 172.

Rana’s injury-  The lucky break for Gill?

‘One’s demise is another person’s delight’- Shubman Gill might not have been delighted by the left-hander’s injury. However, he definitely would have been ecstatic for the fact that he was promoted to the number four slot. The Chennai bowlers had been a tad erratic and the India U19 star had the opportunity to not only dictate terms to them but also guide them to an emphatic victory.

He had Sunil Narine and Rinku Singh as his first couple of partners, which helped him. Nevertheless, he had the luxury of Dinesh Karthik as his third companion, probably the most appropriate person Gill needed as a guide. Moreover, Karthik hasn’t been in the worst of nicks. CSK’s hapless bowling was severely exposed as the duo made a mockery of a rather steep target.

From here onwards it won’t be bewildering if teams make an automatic choice to field first against Dhoni’s boys, provided they win the toss. The Men in Yellow have to go back to the drawing board and sort out their bowling which has been exposed by KKR, Mumbai Indians (MI) and to some extent the Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Rating of the Match- 4.5