Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League Season 15 by six wickets, with nine balls to spare. Chasing a target of 131, KKR wrapped up the match in 18.3 overs.
It was KKR’s night as they outplayed the defending champions CSK in every department. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer made the right calls starting with the toss, and his team was right on the money. The CSK batters found it tough to build partnerships and get the innings going.
In the first half, only Robin Uthappa played some extravagant strokes, but he didn’t get any support from the other batters. Moreover, it was the 6th wicket partnership between MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja that gave CSK a respectable score to defend as they put up 131/5 at the end of 20 overs. Dhoni scored a superlative 50 and reminded his fans and the cricket world that he still holds the prowess of being the greatest finisher in the game.
KKR’s opening batters Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer began on a steady note and ensured that the team went through the powerplay without losing a wicket. CSK’s bowling attack lacked the spice, barring for Dwayne Bravo, who ended up with match figures of 3/20. After the fall of Rahane’s wicket at 87, captain Shreyas Iyer and Sam Billings ensured the team had a comfortable win over the reigning champions.
Shreyas Iyer finished unbeaten on 20 as KKR beat CSK by 6 wickets with 9 balls to spare and opened their account on the points table with 2 points.
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