In Match 33 of TATA IPL 2023 at the Eden Gardens, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) continued their winning streak by beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and reached the top of the table. CSK won the match by 49 runs.
KKR won the toss and chose to bowl. However, CSK's openers, Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad, gave the team a steady start, hitting some well-timed attractive shots. Conway hit some big shots, including a six over deep square leg off David Wiese and another straight down the ground off Varun Chakaravarthy. CSK was at 59/0 at the end of the Powerplay. Gaikwad was finally dismissed by Suyash Sharma with a fast googly, but Conway and Ajinkya Rahane kept the scoreboard ticking. After Conway brought up his fourth fifty in a row, he was caught at long off by Chakaravarthy. However, Shivam Dube took the baton and hit a couple of sixes, and Rahane showed his class by flicking the first ball of Umesh Yadav's comeback over for a six, scooping the next one for another six, and then cracking a drive through covers for a four. Rahane finished the innings unbeaten on 71 off 29 balls, Dube scored a blistering 50 off 21 balls, and CSK set a mammoth target of 236 runs.
KKR's chase started poorly as opener Sunil Narine was cleaned up by CSK's Impact Player Akash Singh off the fourth ball of the innings. N Jagadeesan departed in the second over, slicing one to deep point where Jadeja took a very good sharp, low catch. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana steadied the ship and hit two fours and a six each as KKR reached 38/2 at the end of the Powerplay. Moeen Ali then struck off his first ball, trapping Iyer LBW as he missed his slog sweep. Jason Roy came out all guns blazing and hit three consecutive sixes off Ali. But Ravindra Jadeja had Rana caught at deep mid-wicket, and KKR hobbled to 76/4 at the halfway mark.
Roy and Rinku Singh then pressed the accelerator button, hammering a couple of sixes and a four off Jadeja. Roy brought up his fifty off just 19 balls, with a slashed four to third man off Pathirana. However, Pathirana cleaned him up with a yorker on 61(26). With the required run-rate almost 20 (99 required from 30), Rinku and Andre Russell went after Tushar Deshpande and took 19 off the over, including two fours and a six. Pathirana then got rid of Russell (9 off 6) as he mistimed one to deep mid-wicket of a slower ball.
The Sri Lankan pacer bowled a brilliant over and gave away just eight, including the wicket of Russell. Rinku Singh tried to put up a fight and brought up his fifty with a six, but KKR fell short by 49 runs, and he remained unbeaten on 53 off 33 balls.
CSK's collective bowling effort saw the bowlers pick up regular wickets and restrict KKR to 186/8 to achieve a comprehensive win and made CSK reach the top of the table.