With a superlative win over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have kept themselves in the hunt for the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
After CSK opted to bat first on a tricky surface, they started brightly and scored 52/1 in the powerplay. However, the KKR spinners, especially Sunil Narine (2/15) choked the CSK batters and reduced them to 72/5 after 11 overs.
Shivam Dube then continued his impressive form with the bat and took the Super Kings to 144/6 with his unbeaten 48* off 36 deliveries.
Even though the final score was not what CSK planned for at the outset, they would have definitely looked to make the most of it. Deepak Chahar started on a breathtaking note, dismissing all three of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, and Venkatesh Iyer inside five overs.
KKR were at 33/3 when Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh joined hands to bail KKR out of trouble. The two left-handers batted admirably well and negotiated the CSK spinners were right application.
While Rinku scored a brilliant 43-ball 54, Rana remained unbeaten at 57* till the end to guide the Knight Riders past the total with six wickets and nine balls remaining.
KKR jumped one spot in IPL 2023 points table after their win over CSK
It was a much-needed win for Lucknow on Saturday. Given the number of franchises still in the hunt for the playoff berths, Kolkata bagged two crucial points to go seventh on the points table.
KKR, who have now displaced the Punjab Kings (PBKS), have now accumulated 12 points and have a net run rate of -0.256.
Chennai, meanwhile, had a terrific chance to go top of the table with a win over Kolkata on Sunday. However, their loss at home means that they are still second with 15 points after 13 games.
Here is the updated IPL 2023 points table:
Table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) will square off against ninth-placed SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 62 of IPL 2023 on Monday, May 15, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. A win for GT on Monday will guarantee their spot in Qualifier 1.
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