IPL 2020: Match 49, CSK vs KKR – CSK’s excellence in thrilling chases, Ruturaj's big knock and more stats

Chennai Super Kings got the better of Kolkata Knight Riders in a last-ball thriller to seal a 6-wicket win in Dubai. In a crucial game to strengthen their playoff chances, the KKR team finished strongly on 172/5 thanks to a 61-ball 87 from Nitish Rana at the top. CSK got a 50-run opening stand in the chase but at the cost of 7.3 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad (72 off 53) and Ambati Rayudu (38 off 20) added 68 for the 2nd wicket in only 6.1 overs but the required rate climbed to 15 as they lost three wickets in quick space. Ravindra Jadeja (31* off 11) smashed the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Kamlesh Nagarkoti in the final two overs to seal a thriller.

Here are all the statistical highlights from Chennai Super Kings’ thrilling win during CSK vs KKR:

CSK’s excellence in thrilling chases:

3 – Chennai Super Kings now has won three matches in the IPL with a six being hit on the final ball of the chase. Dwayne Bravo hit a six off Rajat Bhatia when five runs were needed off the last ball against KKR in 2012 while Mitchell Santner hit a maximum against RR last year when CSK where needing three off the last delivery.

6 – The CSK vs KKR game was the 6th instance in the IPL where Chennai Super Kings team won a match by reaching the target on the last ball of the chase. These are the most number of times in the IPL that any team has won chasing down the target on the final ball, surpassing the Mumbai Indians (5 times).

5 – Kolkata Knight Riders have been on the receiving end of five successful IPL chase which ended on the last ball. These are the most times in the IPL where a team has lost on the final ball while defending a total, surpassing the Mumbai Indians (4 times). Four of KKR’s five instances ended with the winning team hitting a six on the final ball.

CSK’s great record in chasing against KKR:

9-1 – Chennai Super Kings has won nine of the ten matches while chasing a target against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Their meeting earlier this season was the first-ever instance of CSK losing to KKR while chasing in the IPL.

Uncapped batters bail out their teams:

72 – Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 72-run knock during CSK vs KKR is now the highest individual score by an uncapped player in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings. The previous highest was an unbeaten 65 by Gaikwad himself against RCB on Sunday. The highest score by an uncapped player for CSK before Ruturaj’s twin fifties was 64 by Subramaniam Badrinath in 2008 (vs KXIP) and Srikkanth Anirudha in 2011 (vs KKR).

87 – The 87-run knock by Nitish Rana is now his highest individual score in the IPL. It is also the 4th highest individual score for KKR by an uncapped player in the IPL. Manish Pandey scored 94 against KXIP during 2014 final while Manvinder Bisla against CSK struck 89 during the 2012 finale. Bisla also struck 92 against CSK in the 2013 season but in a losing chase.

Varun gets Dhoni again:

1 – Varun Chakravarthy, during CSK vs KKR, became the first player in the IPL to dismiss MS Dhoni twice via ‘bowled’ in the same edition. Varun, in fact, is also the first spinner to claim Dhoni’s wicket via ‘bowled’ twice in the IPL. Among pacers, only Lasith Malinga (2) had cleaned up Dhoni more than once in league history.