Published 22:02 IST, June 25th 2019
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings hold the top spot after their 7th win
The defending champions Chennai Super Kings continue their winning momentum as they got the better of Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in the penultimate over at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
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The defending champions Chennai Super Kings, persist on their winning spree, got the better of Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in the penultimate over at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
CSK have once again consolidated their spot at the summit of the points table having won seven of their eight games with 14 points as no other team is even close to the three-time champions. Meanwhile, despite suffering their third straight loss and second loss against CSK in both their home and away fixtures, KKR continues to be on the second spot of the points table with four wins and four losses in eight games.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni invited KKR to bat first after winning the toss. They bowled to restrict the former champions to a manageable total of 161/8 in their 20 overs. Chris Lynn starred with the bat for Kolkata as he played a brilliant knock of a 51-ball 82 at a strike rate of 160.78 including seven boundaries and six maximums. Lynn and Narine added 38 runs for the opening wicket.
The Australian opening batsman was then involved in a couple of crucial partnerships with Nitish Rana (21) and skipper Dinesh Karthik (18). Lynn kept the scoreboard ticking as he went on to register his eighth IPL half-century and his second one of this season. He was eventually dismissed for a 51-ball 82 at a strike rate of 160.78 which included seven boundaries and six maximums.
Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers for CSK with figures of 4-27 in his four overs at an economy of 6.75.
In response, Chennai got off to a steady start but lost both their openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis early. They then found themselves in a spot of bother at 81/4 after losing the wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav. However, Suresh Raina anchored CSK's running chase with a brilliant knock of an unbeaten 42-ball 58 and added 41 runs for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja who played an important cameo of a 17-ball 31 and also hit the winning runs.
20:14 IST, April 14th 2019