Chennai Super Kings Return to Winning Ways with Comfortable Victory over Kolkata Knight Riders

Calcutta: Chennai Super Kings returned to their winning ways on Monday with a convincing seven-wicket victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders. They did so by playing on the usually slow Chepauk surface, which has been a major factor in their IPL success over the years.

After the Powerplay broke the back of the Knight Riders' batting, Ravindra Jadeja (3/18) was unquestionably the best bowler for the Super Kings. However, because the Knights could only muster 137/9, credit must also go to quicks Tushar Deshpande (3/33) and Mustafizur Rahman (2/22), who essentially gave nothing away in those death overs.

After not playing at his best in the preceding games, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad demonstrated how to pace and construct an innings on this kind of surface by making an incredible 67 off 58 balls without conceding a run.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, captain of the Chennai Super Kings, is his route to his 67 PTI without a loss.

With 14 balls remaining, the in-form Shivam Dube (28 off 18 balls) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (1 not out off 3 deliveries) carried their team home, much to the pleasure of the Chepauk fans. They had also unleashed their big knocks to accelerate CSK's march to victory.

With six points, CSK is at fourth in the standings, while KKR is still ranked second after suffering their first defeat in four games this season.

The hitters needed to apply themselves properly on a pitch like that, and the Knights were unable to do so.

After the fourth wicket fell, it wouldn't have been a bad idea for KKR to move the far more gifted Rinku Singh up the order.

It was really difficult for the batters to start blasting right away given the circumstances. Looking uncomfortable, Deshpande's slow and wide one finally undid Rinku. Andre Russell barely got a chance to get his bearings before Mustafizur's cuts made him appear foolish.

The real hero of the match was Jadeja, who entered the Chepauk this season without having taken a wicket. During their 56-run partnership for the second wicket, Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi looked strong, even though the latter was experiencing some soreness in his left shoulder.

However, Jadeja made a crucial strike, trapping Raghuvanshi, who attempted a reverse smash and was bowled out. The Knights' hitter was out at deep after Jadeja allowed the ball to drift slightly and pitched it away from Narine's arc in the same over. When Venkatesh Iyer mishandled a half-tracker, Jadeja grabbed his third wicket.

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