IPL 2018, KKR vs CSK: Hits and Misses
Put into bat first, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got off to a blistering start as Faf du Plessis went after the bowling right from the start.
The South African skipper scored 27 in quick time before he was castled by Piyush Chawla. Shane Watson, on the other hand, started off sedately and was looking in good form but like his opening partner, Watson failed to convert his start.
MS Dhoni finished with a flourish once again as he struck a 25-ball 43 (hitting four sixes and one four). CSK posted 177 in their 20 overs despite struggling in the middle overs as the KKR spinners bowled very well.
Chasing almost nine runs an over, Chris Lynn was dismissed after hitting a couple of sixes in the first over.
Like the previous games, Narine once again gave KKR a good start. After that start, it was Shubman Gill who scored an excellent 57 to take KKR home.
Dinesh Karthik was once again superb as he struck an 18-ball 45 and helped KKR get their fifth win of the season.
#5 Hit: MS Dhoni
Dhoni has been absolutely brilliant in this IPL. After Ambati Rayudu, he has been CSK’s best batsman.
He scored a blistering 22-ball fifty in the last game against Delhi Daredevils which was his second-fastest fifty in IPL history.
He was once again very good in this game. He strode out to the centre in the 12th over and like most of his innings in recent times, he started slowly.
He reached five off eight balls before hitting his first six of the game in the 16th over. Then the former Indian skipper got stuck into Mitchell Johnson hitting him for a couple of sixes in the latter’s last over as he provided impetus to the CSK innings.
However, he couldn’t get much of the strike in the last couple of overs but it was his 43 that took CSK to 177. It was Dhoni’s late overs charge that helped CSK get 56 runs in the last five overs.