“There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip”. Probably nothing sums up Chennai Super Kings’ 10-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders last evening than this old idiom. Seeing Chennai chasing a target of 168 runs, batting at 90 for the loss of a wicket at the end of ten overs, it’s highly unlikely that anybody would have expected them to lose from there. But the stars haven’t been too kind to the three-time IPL champions.
Tripathi Leaves Everyone Enchanted
Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders set up a decent total of 167, especially taking into account the long boundaries at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Almost half of the runs were scored by Rahul Tripathi who smashed 81 off just 51 deliveries.
However, none of the other batsmen could lend him any support from the other end. Although Narine and Cummins scored quick-fire 17s off 9 deliveries each, the other batsmen, including Russel and Morgan failed to click.
While KKR was cruising at 93 for 2 off the first ten overs, the CSK bowlers did a great job at plugging the flow of runs, snapping KKR’s next eight wickets for just 74 runs. The CSK batsmen would have surely heaved a sigh of relief at this target.
The First Ten Overs of Pure Bliss for CSK
CSK’s inning saw a decent start with Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis putting their experience to good use. However, one delivery from the youngster Shivam Mavi soon found an edge off Duplessis’ bat and flew off to Karthik. Fortunately for KKR, Karthik’s performance this season behind the stumps hasn’t been as abysmal as his heroics at the crease.
Despite his opening partner’s departure, Watson stayed on the crease, slowly driving his team toward what could have been their third win this season. Ambati Rayadu provided him with ample support from the other end.
And the Run Drought Begins!
Between overs 11 to 15, all that CSK could manage were 20 runs- for the loss of both its set batsmen. The minute one saw CSK chasing 58 runs off the last five overs, they must have realized that CSK had again left a little too much for later. The situation looked grimmer and rightly so with M.S Dhoni at the crease, who in all earnestness, has lost his flair for finishing off difficult games and pulling his team out of the intricate situations. Kedar Jadhav’s failure with the bat also pushed CSK further into the jaws of defeat.
Ravindra Jadeja’s fireworks towards the end of the inning barely helped the team narrow down the margin of the loss, which may come in handy if the net run rate factor comes into play later. However, that’s a far cry and with four losses in six games, CSK will now have to win a series of games to come within the touching distance of other teams to qualify for the playoffs. They have their next duel coming up on October 10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai.
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