The Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen failed to convert starts first up. Their bowlers, thereafter, leaked so many runs that the required run rate was never a concern for Chennai Super Kings, even when they were five down for 60 in the sixth over in pursuit of 180.
Eventually, the Super Kings carved out a two-wicket win with as many balls remaining. The defeat means KKR’s road to the playoffs becomes tougher as they can now end with a maximum of 15 points if they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their remaining matches. They also have to win big to boost their net run rate.
They will then hope that a few other results go their way. But they first need to recover from this demoralising defeat, that too against a side that is already out of the playoffs race.
Crowd-favourite Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a crucial six to take his team closer to the target.
With eight required off the last six balls, Andre Russell dished out a full toss off the first ball of that over. That was just what the CSK captain was hoping for as he dispatched it over deep mid-wicket to ease the equation to two required off five balls.
Anshul Kamboj then hit a four to take CSK home with two balls remaining.
With most of their batters unable to convert starts, KKR could still post a somewhat competitive total of 179/8, with captain Ajinkya Rahane (48) being their top scorer and Russell hitting a 21-ball 38.
Noor-Brevis show
In his first spell, Noor Ahmad, the pick of the CSK bowlers on Wednesday, used the wrong’un efficiently to remove the in-form Angkrish Raghuvanshi after having a set Sunil Narine stumped in the same over. The Afghan left-arm wrist spinner bowler then returned to dismiss both Russell and Rinku Singh, which denied KKR a 200-run total.
After Noor's exploits, IPL debutant Urvil Patel (31 off 11 balls) set it up with his fireworks at the top. Then came the game-turning 11th over of the run chase, where Dewald Brevis (52 off 25 balls) smoked Vaibhav Arora for three boundaries and three sixes.
Following Brevis’s dismissal by Varun Chakravarthy, CSK looked a bit shaky, but Dhoni was there till the end to ensure full points.
Bomb threat
During the Knight Riders’ innings, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) got an email from an unknown ID that threatened a bomb attack at the Eden. The police began their investigation thereafter, while security has also been beefed up at the venue.