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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to winning ways with a convincing six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday, April 8. This marked the Shreyas Iyer-led side's first defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad opted to field first after winning the toss while naming a host of changes to the playing XI. Matheesha Pathirana remained unavailable while Mustafizur Rahman returned after missing out on the last contest. KKR remained unchanged for the contest.
CSK made a strong start to the game as Phil Salt was dismissed for a golden duck off Tushar Deshpande's bowling. The duo of Sunil Narine and Angriksh Raghuvanshi put on a promising partnership for the second wicket to help KKR post 56 runs in the powerplay.
However, in trademark fashion, and after a long time, CSK introduced control in the middle overs with their spin attack. KKR collapsed from 56-1 to 64-4 in no time, with Ravindra Jadeja spinning a web over the opposition's middle order.
KKR never found a way back from the early collapse, and with the boundaries drying out until the end of the innings, they could only post 137-9 at the end of the first innings.
In reply, CSK made a brisk start against KKR's new ball attack in the run chase. Daryl Mitchell came into bat at No.3 as Ajinkya Rahane was nursing a calf injury. Ruturaj Gaikwad found some of his old mojo to construct a fine, unbeaten half-century, while Mitchell lived up to his reputation as a credible player against spin bowling.
The pair put up 70 runs for the second wicket, laying down the foundation before Sunil Narine dismissed Daryl Mitchell in the 13th over. Shivam Dube came out at No.4 to take on the KKR spinners as CSK scaled down the total with 14 deliveries to spare.
On that note, here are three moments that generated buzz among fans in CSK's win over KKR in IPL 2024.
#1 Tushar Deshpande strikes off the first ball of the match
The highly anticipated contest, built on the old rivalry coupled with CSK returning to their home against the unbeaten KKR, kickstarted on an eventful note.
Phil Salt tried to score over the offside infield against a length delivery, but could not middle his attempt. The ball found Ravindra Jadeja at backward point after splicing off Salt's bat.
The all-rounder had to jump full length to claim the catch, but it was a regulation attempt by his lofty standards. Deshpande ended up having an eventful outing, and so did Ravindra Jadeja. Speaking of whom.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja's double strike in the seventh over
The left-arm all-rounder's form was heavily criticized in the early phase of the season. However, he was at his absolute best to orchestrate KKR's collapse, beginning the work in his first over itself.
Jadeja, much like Deshpande, struck gold off the first delivery of his spell. He trapped Angkrish Raghuvanshi LBW, as the youngster attempted a cheeky reverse sweep first up.
Only three deliveries later, he claimed the key wicket of Sunil Narine. The in-form opener holed out to long off fielder where Maheesh Theekshana took a solid catch.
His third wicket also came in quick succession as he managed to dismiss Venkatesh Iyer in his next over. Daryl Mitchell took a tumbling catch at deep midwicket and Jadeja continued to exercise control for the remainder of the spell to ensure tight figures of 3-18 off four overs.
#3 MS Dhoni's rare off day with the gloves
Dhoni's missed opportunities behind the stumps had the fans riled up during the mid-innings break. The veteran wicket-keeper failed to hold onto a one-handed attempt against Andre Russell, and then proceeded to miss a run out off the last delivery of the innings as well.
Russell had edged one of Mustafizur Rahman's cutters as he went for a huge heave. Dhoni was a little bit slow to react as the ball travelled fast following the thick edge. Although he managed to stop the ball, he failed to hold onto it.
As far as the run-out miss was concerned, Anukul Roy and Vaibhav Arora tried to sneak in a quick single after the former missed any sort of contact with the ball. On most occasions, Dhoni hits the bull's eye with an underarm throw, but this time around he missed.
The legendary cricketer made up for it by coming to bat at No.5 to close out the match, much to the delight of the ardent CSK fans at the Chepauk.
