Noor spins Chennai Super Kings to a 32-run win over hapless Kolkata Knight Riders

Chennai Super Kings got 72 in the powerplay, and Kolkata Knight Riders got half of it, 36 to be precise, and that made all the difference as the hosts pulled off a 32-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday night.

It was Chennai’s second consecutive win at the Chepauk, and it helped them to move up to the eighth position with four points, while Kolkata are consigned to the bottom with a solitary point to their credit from five games.

Chasing a modest 193, Kolkata Knight Riders began with Sunil Narine replacing skipper Ajinkya Rahane at the opening slot. It made no difference as Finn Allen (1) fell quickly and Rahane came to bat in the second over itself.

Rahane and Narine tried to push things but failed as Narine went after making a 17-ball 24.  By the end of the sixth over, the Knight Riders had only 36 on the board and that hampered their progress. They were 36 behind Chennai and the gulf was too big to be bridged by the end of the innings. Kolkata were restricted to 160 for seven with Noor Ahmad doing the most damage.

Noor Ahmad finished with figures of three for 21 as Chennai won by 32 runs for their second consecutive victory at the Chepauk

Rahane (28) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (27) hit the odd boundary, but runs were not easy to come by. They added 50 for the third wicket off 31 balls before both of them perished in quick succession.

Runs begun to come in a trickle and the pressure mounted on the batters. To add to their woes, Noor took over the proceedings. The Chennai Super Kings spinner spun a web from which the Knight Riders found difficult to escape. Noor got rid of Ajinkya Rahane and then had Cameroon Green (0) off successive balls.

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An over later, he had the scalp of Rinku Singh (6) and the Knight Riders were down in the dump. Noor finished with figures of three for 21. Rovman Powell (31 not out) and Ramandeep Singh (35) tried to take the fight to the Chennai camp, but the gap was too big to fill. They added 63 off 40 balls but the effort came too late as the ran out of overs.

“I thought with the ball, we did very good. 190 on this wicket was very good. To pull it back for 190 (after the powerplay CSK had) was very good. We needed one batter to bat through till the end (for us to have a good chance). Combination wise, the one we had, last game and this, was really good. It is tough, not winning matches. About have to keep our heads up, chins up. If the results are not going your way, you have to think about combinations, but it is about being positive and keeping your heads up,” said Kolkata skipper Rahane.

Cameroon Green finds his stumps rearranged by Noor Ahmad. Pics: BCCI

Earlier, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s woes with the willow continued as he was dismissed by Anukul Roy for 7. But opener Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre steadied the innings by going after the Kolkata Knightriders bowlers. The duo took the score to 72 by the end of the powerplay. They had added 47 for the second wicket before Ayush fell for a 17-ball 38. Sanju contributed just nine in the partnership.

Chennai batters struggle at the backend of the innings

Sanju and Dewald Brevis then added 39 off 32 balls for the third wicket before Sanju perished after making 48. By all accounts, it was quite a subdued knock from the wicketkeeper-bat, who was named the ICC’s Player of the Month for March earlier in the day.

Brevis and Sarfaraz Khan then added an enterprising 51 off 29 balls for the fourth wicket with both the batters contributing an identical 23 but Brevis took 11 balls for it, while Sarfaraz took 18 balls. Big hitting Shivam Dube and Jamie Overton too struggled to get the boundaries as Chennai got just 23 in the last three overs.

Ayush Mhatre looked the most convincing batter on the day. He made a 17-ball 38 which powered Chennai to 72 in the powerplay

Sunil Narine bowled 11 dot balls as he just conceded 21 runs in his four overs, while taking the wicket of Sarfaraz Khan.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 192 for five in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 48, Ayush Mhatre 38, Dewald Brevis 41, Sarfaraz Khan 23, Shivam Dube 13 not out; Kartik Tyagi 2/35) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 160 for seven in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 24, Ajinkya Rahane 28, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 27, Rovman Powell 31 not out, Ramandeep Singh 35; Noor Ahmad 3/21, Anshul Kamboj 2/32).