Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ dominant run at home continued yet again as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets, here on Tuesday. With the win CSK has once again gone back to the top of the points table.
Put into bat first,it was a dismal show by Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen as CSK bowlers started picking wickets at regular intervals. First it was Deepak Chahar who picked up three wickets in the first three overs he bowled within the powerplay and KKR were reeling at 24-4 after five overs.
KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill then began to stitch a partnership but Karthik succumbed to Tahir after scoring 19 and soon Gill was also stumped as Piyush Chawla joined Russell with the score at 49-6. It was Andre Russell’s show yet again as he fought his way to score 50 runs off 44 balls and helped KKR post a total of 108.
Chasing 109, Sunil Narine took two wickets early on dismissing Shane Watson and Suresh Raina but Faf Du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu stitched together a partnership of 46 runs and in the end Du Plessis remained unbeaten at 43 as Chennai chased the target in the 18th over.
Deepak Chahar was adjudged the man of the match and speaking after the match at the press conference he said about his new role as a death bowler. “I have been bowling in the powerplay alone. So when Bravo got injured it was necessary for me to bowl in the death overs. I was prepared for it and worked hard on it but this time only I got the opportunity and I think I have done well.”
Last year conditions in Pune helped him swing the ball well but this year the conditions in Chepauk did not offer him much swing and speaking about it he says, “Last year we played in Pune where conditions were helpful for the fast bowlers, offering lot of swing. This year I know that we will be playing in Chennai so I practiced that way. Here the length and line has to be accurate and also prepared for variations like slow bounce and slower balls. I am obviously a better bowler than last year. At this level you need a lot of confidence and having played for India also helped me.”
On filling in the shoes of Bravo as a death bowler, he says, “I don’t think I have any pressure and I like when a responsibility is given to me. I was always happy to bowl in the death and we miss Bravo. He is an asset to the team we can’t replace him because we need a batsman and a bowler in his place. Proving me as a death bowler will help in my career as it makes me a complete bowler.”
Chahar also opened up on what advice Dhoni gave him in the last game when he bowled two beamers, “I have got thousands of messages asking me the same thing. He was angry. If I were the captain, I would also be angry because at that situation I bowled two beamers. He was angry on the selection of the ball and said that it was not that good. After that it came well.”
KKR’s Piyush Chawla said their batsmen played too many shots early in the innings that led to their downfall. “It’s nothing like we misread the wicket. Maybe we played too many shots in the starting and we lost three wickets extra in the powerplay. That’s how it goes in the shorter formats. 130 -145 would have been ideal.”
On whether this loss will affect their momentum going forward, he said “It’s important in these kind of tournament that even if you win or lose you forget it quickly and focus on next game. Now the focus is on the next game against Delhi and even after posting 108 on the board, we fought really hard and took the game almost till 18th over.”