Chennai Super Kings flew to the top of the points table with a dominating 49-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the 33rd Indian Premier League 2023 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, April 23. Ajinkya Rahane’s 71* off 29 and quick fifties from Devon Conway and Shivam Dube helped Chennai score 235 runs while batting first. Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets each to restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to 186/8.
Nitish Rana won the toss and elected to bowl first, with Namibian all-rounder David Wiese making his KKR debut and Narayan Jagadeesan returning to the playing eleven. Chennai fielded the same playing eleven, with Ben Stokes, Sisanda Magala, and Deepak Chahar remaining on the sidelines with injuries.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway produced another good start with a 73-run stand for the opening wicket. Suyash Sharma gave the hosts an opening in the eighth over with Gaikwad’s wicket, but the next batter Ajinkya Rahane further accelerated Chennai’s innings with a sensational knock. Meanwhile, Conway registered his fourth consecutive fifty as he smashed 56 off 40 before getting out in the 13th over.
Rahane and Dube then showered big shots at the Eden Gardens with an 85-run stand for the third wicket in just 32 balls. Dube smashed 50 off 21, while Rahane remained unbeaten at 71* off 29 to record his second fifty of this season. Jadeja also played a cameo knock of 18 off eight as Chennai batters recorded 18 sixes and 14 fours to post a total of 235/4.
Akash Singh gave Chennai a flying start with Sunil Narine’s wicket on the innings’ fourth delivery. Tushar Deshpande dismissed returning batter Narayan Jagadeesan in the next over to keep Chennai in the driver’s seat. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana tried to balance the game with a 44-run stand for the third wicket but lost their wickets while attempting big shots under the pressure.
Jason Roy, playing his second game this season, smashed a quick fifty as he raised fans’ hope for the chase with a 65-run stand for the fifth wicket with Rinku Singh. But Theekshana bowled out Roy in the 15th over, who scored 61 off just 26 with the help of five fours and five sixes. Rinku also recorded a fifty and remained unbeaten to smash 53* off 33, but Kolkata managed to score just 186/8 and suffered their fifth defeat of the season.
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