IPL 2018, CSK vs KKR: Sam Billings' getting the better of Tom Curran is SK Turning Point of the match
Chennai Super Kings pulled off their second consecutive victory of IPL 2018 on Tuesday (April 11). This time around, it was against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first in CSK's first home game of the season. KKR started well and scored at an explosive run-rate of 10 in the first eight overs of the game.
They lost a bunch of wickets in the middle overs though and that made it look like they would finish somewhere around the 170 mark. However, a late burst from Andre Russell put the visitors right on top of the tie, as the West Indian scored as many as 88 runs in just 36 balls by the end of the first innings.
Chennai Super Kings started in a blistering fashion as both Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu struck the ball over the fence on a consistent basis. However, they could not convert their starts into big knocks and returned to the pavilion before the tenth over of the game.
Suresh Raina looked good for some time but was forced to play a wild shot due to recurring cramps. He was dismissed for 14 by the ever-reliant Sunil Narine in the 12th over of the chase.
That is when Sam Billings came on to the pitch and seemed to decide that the flat track was a stage for him to display his tremendous batting prowess.
Dhoni was playing at a peculiarly slow strike-rate at that phase of the innings and it seemed as if CSK were drilling themselves into a hole with every dot ball.
However, the English batsman did not let the pressure of the required run-rate get to him and expressed himself with absolute confidence from the very first delivery he faced.
The point where the chase started to look probable for CSK was when Tom Curran was brought into the attack by Dinesh Karthik to bowl the 15th over.
The English seamer was hit for 17 runs in the over and leaked two sixes in it. Billings was dropped by Robin Uthappa on the second delivery of this over, but he did not let it deter his focus. The right-hander retained his composure through the over and swung the momentum of the game in the favour of the hosts.
He ended up with 56 runs off 23 deliveries and when he returned to the pavilion in the second last over of the game, he had put the game firmly in the grasp of his side.