Jadeja cameo takes CSK to last-ball win
ABU DHABI: Ravindra Jadeja won a close match for Chennai Super Kings for the umpteenth time as his back-end pyrotechnics ensured a two-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League thriller here on Sunday.
Jadeja (22 off 8 balls) launched into pacer Prasidh Krishna, who bowled the 19th over, where the pacer lost his length completely under the Saurashtra all-rounder’s onslaught with CSK reaching the target of 172 in exactly 20 overs.
Instead of bowling yorkers, Krishna repeatedly bowled length balls as Jadeja hit two sixes and two boundaries to make it a cakewalk in the final over. Krishna conceded 22 runs in the penultimate over to leave CSK with four runs to get in the final over.
But there was more drama in store as Sam Curran and Jadeja were snuffed out by Sunil Narine before Deepak Chahar ended the match with a single.
However, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan’s captaincy left a lot to be desired as the decision to bring in Krishna in the 19th over would be debated.
Morgan in his defence could sight Andre Russell’s injury being the reason but Narine in the 19th over could have posed a bigger challenge for a rampaging Jadeja.
The win also meant that CSK remained unbeaten after the IPL resumed and once again were back at the top in the pecking order, with 16 points.
In pursuit of a challenging 172, CSK were down and out at 142/6 before Jadeja took the onus on himself. KKR had posted 171/6, as they rode on late flourish by former skipper Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana after the foundation was laid by Rahul Tripathi (45).
CSK weren’t able to capitalise on the aggressive 74-run opening start given by Ruturaj Gaikwad (40 off 28 balls; 2 fours and 3 sixes) and South African Faf Du Plessis (43; seven fours).
KKR pegged CSK by sending both the openers back in quick succession. CSK then suffered a middle-order collapse. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy had got KKR back into the game by dismissing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Earlier, former skipper Dinesh Karthik’s late cameo and Nitish Rana’s steady long handle took Kolkata Knight Riders to a par-score of 171. Seamer Shardul Thakur (2/20 in 4 overs) and Jadeja (1/21 in 4 overs) performed impressively to keep KKR under leash till the 13th over when they were 93/4.
However, the last seven overs yielded 78 runs and KKR were able to put on a more than fighting score largely due to Sam Curran (0/56 in 4 overs) leaking runs at the back end. Even Josh Hazlewood (2/40 in 4 overs) got a bit of stick, helping KKR’s cause.
The platform was laid by Rahul Tripathi (45 off 33), who hit four boundaries and one six but it was the CSK bowlers, who kept making inroads and did not allow the KKR batsmen to either free their arms or settle down.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 171/6 in 20 overs (R Tripathi 45, N Rana 37*; S Thakur 2/20, J Hazlewood 2/40) lost to Chennai Super Kings 172/8 in 20 overs (F du Plessis 43, R Gaikwad 40; S Narine 3/41) by 2 wickets.