IPL 2019, KKR vs CSK: Best captaincy move of the game
Chennai Super Kings has emerged as the early favorites to lift the IPL trophy this season. The defending champions had won six out of their seven matches this season. On the other hand, KKR had started to slip after their great start to the season. The hosts needed a win vs CSK to put their campaign back on track.
MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. KKR got off to a great start as Chris Lynn seemed to be in great form. The Australian batsman was having a poor tournament until now and missed the last match due to illness. Today he was determined to prove his doubters wrong as he took on the CSK bowlers.
KKR was in a good position when Imran Tahir came on to bowl. The decision to hold back Imran Tahir proved to be a masterstroke. He chipped in with crucial wickets in the middle overs, which made life easier for bowlers in death overs. The South African leg-spinner picked two wickets in his second over to rock the KKR batting order.
Then he came back in the 15th over of the innings to take the wicket of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell. After losing these two class batsmen KKR didn't have enough firepower to score big in slog overs. Eventually, they posted a target of 162 for CSK, which was below par.
CSK lost Shane Watson early but Faf du Plessis played a good cameo at the top. After the dismissal of Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina anchored CSK innings but KKR kept chipping in with wickets at regular intervals. When Sunil Narine took the wicket of MS Dhoni, the match was evenly poised.
Suresh Raina completed a well-deserved half-century. He got support from Ravindra Jadeja, who played a great cameo to take CSK across the line. Eventually, CSK won the match with five wickets in hand and two balls to spare.
CSK have now won seven out of their eight matches this season. On the other hand, KKR needs to do something very quickly to stop the downfall.
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