CSK vs KKR, IPL 2023: CSK Player Ratings as MS Dhoni's men suffer blow to top-2 hopes after comprehensive home defeat
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a blow in their pursuit of a top-two finish as they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets in Match 61 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday, May 14.
The Men in Yellow decided to bat first in their final league game at Chepauk, but the move didn't pay off as the KKR bowlers bowled well to restrict them to 144/6. Calm fifties from Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh then took the Knight Riders home despite Deepak Chahar's three-wicket burst in the powerplay.
Here are CSK's player ratings from Match 61 of IPL 2023 against KKR.
IPL 2023, CSK vs KKR: Batters barring Dube struggle, Chahar takes three
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 3/10
Gaikwad has now gone 11 innings with a fifty this season. The opening batter's game against pace has deteriorated significantly, with his attempted slog-sweep off Varun Chakaravarthy settling in the hands of short third. Both the shot he played and its execution were totally off the mark.
Devon Conway: 6/10
Conway could never get going against KKR. He struggled with a niggle and hit only three fours in his scratchy 28-ball knock before being bounced out by Shardul Thakur.
Ajinkya Rahane: 5/10
Rahane came in and struck a four and a six to inject some momentum into CSK's innings towards the end of the powerplay. However, he was always going to be found out by KKR's spinners in the middle overs, with Chakaravarthy coaxing him into a mistimed loft.
Ambati Rayudu: 1/10
Rayudu's miserable run in IPL 2023 continued as he missed a sweep to hand Sunil Narine his second wicket in nine matches. The batter's place in the team is now under threat.
Moeen Ali: 4/10
Moeen has looked lost with the bat against both pace and spin this season. The left-handed batter was thoroughly flummoxed by a Narine delivery and walked back for just one run. He bowled four overs that went for 31 runs and couldn't get his lengths right against the KKR left-handers in helpful conditions. He did, however, record a direct hit.
Shivam Dube: 8/10
Dube was once again the pillar of the Chennai batting. He came in with the score reading 66/3 in the 10th over and batted through the rest of the innings, making 48 valuable runs. The tall southpaw struck a four and three sixes in his impactful knock.
Ravindra Jadeja: 2/10
Jadeja has been one of CSK's worst batters in IPL 2023. Almost half the innings was left when he came to the crease against KKR, and he managed just 20 off 24 balls. The southpaw bowled only two overs which went for 18 runs.
MS Dhoni: 5/10
Dhoni had only two legal balls to face and couldn't find the boundary. His captaincy was rather insipid in the second innings as the Knight Riders assumed full control of the chase, but he had some smart fields in the powerplay.
Maheesh Theekshana: 5/10
Theekshana went wicketless once again in IPL 2023. The Sri Lankan was introduced late in the attack, with his three uneventful overs costing 22 runs. He never looked like providing a breakthrough.
Deepak Chahar: 8/10
Chahar didn't bowl great lines or lengths in the powerplay but still managed to prise out the KKR top three. The fast bowler has produced made regular inroads in CSK's last few IPL 2023 matches.
Matheesha Pathirana [impact]: 5.5/10
Pathirana didn't have enough runs on the board to work with. His three overs cost 23 runs, including a terrible delivery down the leg side that went for five wides. The pacer shelled a chance at deep backward square leg that would've given his team a chance to make a comeback in the game.
Tushar Deshpande: 6/10
Deshpande bowled three accurate overs in the powerplay, making an error only off the last ball of that spell. He took a good running catch to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz.