Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had failed while chasing in four consecutive games heading into its fourth home game of the IPL 2025 season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
On the eve of the game, head coach Stephen Fleming suggested that batting first might just help break the team’s downward trajectory. The coach got what he wished when Ajinkya Rahane won the toss on Friday and put the M.S. Dhoni-led side in to bat.
But, what followed was another dismal batting performance, as KKR cantered to an eight-wicket win with 59 balls to spare, condemning the host to its fifth consecutive defeat in the competition – a new unwanted record.
On a slow pitch which provided significant turn, CSK’s batters could only muster a paltry score of 103 for nine, its lowest total at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
CSK’s PowerPlay struggles continued to haunt it, as the Kiwi duo of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra were tied down by the swing of Vaibhav Arora. With the team managing only 16 runs in the first three overs, Conway attempted to counter the pressure with a chancy reverse sweep, only to be trapped in front by CSK old boy Moeen Ali.
The wicket maiden from the off-spinner furthered the pressure on Rachin, whose slog across the line on the first ball of Harshit Rana’s spell deepened the team’s woes.
AS IT HAPPENED – CSK vs KKR
The third-wicket stand of 43 between Rahul Tripathi and Vijay Shankar was the closest the home willow-wielders came to any form of fluency. Two boundaries from the bat of Shankar against state-mate Varun Chakaravarthy helped the side escape the ignominy of its lowest PowerPlay score of the season.
But, once the local player holed out to deep square leg against Chakaravarthy, the doors opened for the KKR bowling attack to drive a dagger into the batting line-up. Only 23 runs were scored off the next eight overs, with no batter able to put up a fight against KKR’s pacers and spinners alike. Sunil Narine was the pick of the Knight Riders’ bowlers, picking up three wickets for 13 runs in his four-over spell.
The punt to bring in Deepak Hooda as the impact player too failed after the Rajasthan batter was dismissed for a four-ball duck. After a boundary-less spell of 63 balls, Shivam Dube (31 off 29 balls) managed to find the fence thrice in the final two overs to help the team cross the three-figure mark.
Chennai: Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
| Photo Credit:
R SENTHILKUMAR/PTI
Chennai: Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
| Photo Credit:
R SENTHILKUMAR/PTI
In reply, KKR openers Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine steered away from the mistake committed by the opponent, ensuring a quick start in the first six overs, despite the relatively low target on the board.
When CSK debutant Anshul Kamboj rattled de Kock’s off-pole in the first ball of the fifth over, the Knight Riders had already sped to 46 with the openers hitting four sixes, three more than what the host managed in its entire innings.
Narine continued his assault post-PowerPlay too, plundering two sixes against R. Ashwin before being cleaned up by Noor Ahmad on his first ball of the day. Skipper Rahane and Rinku Singh then saw the team through to the end with relative ease, giving the Knight Riders a significant Net Run Rate boost in their quest to climb up the standings.
