CSK chased down KKR's target of 203 with one ball to spare.
Amidst plenty of buzz and excitement, Chennai Super Kings faced Kolkata Knight Riders in the fifth match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday (April 10).
It was Chennai’s first match in front of their home crowd after completing their two-year termination from the cash-rich league and the MS Dhoni-led side didn’t disappoint the spectators. CSK registered a memorable 5-wicket victory by chasing KKR’s mammoth target of 203 with one ball to spare.
After being put into bat, KKR batsmen didn’t manage to get going as most of them lost their wickets after getting set. However, the swashbuckling Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell was in his zone and he blasted a breathtaking 36-ball 88 to help KKR post a gigantic total of 202 on the board in their 20 overs. Shane Watson picked 2 wickets for the CSK in his quota of 4 overs while Harbhajan, Jadeja and Shardul Thakur claimed one wicket each.
In reply, the CSK openers – Shane Watson (42 off 19 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (39 off 26 balls) started briskly, adding 75 runs in 5.5 overs. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni though couldn’t quite carry the momentum at No. 3 and 4 respectively before Sam Billings (56 off 23 balls) played a gem of a knock to bring CSK on track. Just like CSK’s previous clash against Mumbai Indians, the match went to the final over where Dwayne Bravo (11 off 5 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (11 off 7 balls) sealed the deal by scoring 17 runs off Vinay Kumar in the final over.
Like always, the Twitterverse was buzzing during the match. Here are some of the top tweets hailing CSK’s epic run-chase against KKR:
What an incredible game this is @IPL #CSKvKKR
— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) April 10, 2018
And again! I have heard noise before but not this. #CSK
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 10, 2018
Over 400 runs. Chasing 200 + runs. Last over finish. What more advertisement for cricket and for the IPL. People who witnessed it LIVE have more reasons to remember this match for a long time. @ChennaiIPL on a roll. Amazing victory ????#CSKvKKR
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) April 10, 2018
???????????????? #ipl
— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) April 10, 2018
@sambillings you hero!!
— Moeen Ali (@MoeenAli) April 10, 2018
Yet another exiciting finish to the game for @ChennaiIPL. Credit must go to @sambillings for his brave half century. #WhistlePodu all the way! #CSKvKKR
— R P Singh (@rpsingh) April 10, 2018
Bravo the other night & Billings tonight. Story of CSK’s IPL so far.#CSKvKKR
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 10, 2018
What a thriller... Well done @ChennaiIPL.. Thanks jaddu ????????
— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) April 10, 2018
#CSKvKKR another exciting finish for CSK !! Superb Win
— zaheer khan (@ImZaheer) April 10, 2018
Snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat...CSK is making a habit of it. Win-the-Toss-Field-Win-The-Game...trend continues. Unbelievable. #CSKvKKR #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 10, 2018