Afghanistan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad produced a match-winning spell for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), taking 3 for 21 in 4 overs to help defeat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 32 runs in their IPL 2026 clash on Tuesday (April 14) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

After struggling earlier in the campaign, Noor's turnaround was credited to a long training session chat with the legendary MS Dhoni, who is yet to play a match this season due to calf strain.

CSK’s bowling coach Sridharan Sriram revealed at the post-match conference that Dhoni had a detailed session with Noor, advising him specifically on perfecting his leg-break deliveries.

"It was good. The wicket helped today. There was a little bit of turn for him. The other wickets are quite flat, but today it was a little slower through the air. There was more side spin on the ball and more drop," Sriram told reporters.

"That is something he has been working on. Even MS had a long chat with him in one of the practice sessions, especially about getting his leg-break going. I think it was very helpful today, and the results were there to see," he added.

Sriram believes the early wicketless run for Noor Ahmad was partly due to the nature of the "flat" wickets used in the ongoing IPL.

"Being able to get some deviation off the surface is very important, and that is what he has been working on. Everyone accepts that there will be days when wickets are flat, but still looking to be aggressive, putting revs on the ball and getting it to spin will help. That is how you induce mistakes," Sriram explained.

"In his first over, he was either a bit short or slightly too full. Once he found that in-between length, he became very difficult to play. Credit to Akeal as well because he pointed that out during the strategic timeout."

The bowling coach described Noor as a "very good student of the game" with a bright future ahead.

"One of his strengths is that he gets late movement. His release is very good and the ball moves late. When he gets it right consistently, it becomes difficult for batters."

"He is a very good student of the game. He analyses batters, studies where to place his fielders and understands what speeds to bowl. He comes prepared," Sriram remarked.

Coming to the match, CSK posted 192/5 on the board after being asked to bat first, powered by Sanju Samson (48), Dewald Brevis (41) and Ayush Mhatre (38).

In reply, KKR struggled to keep up with the required rate, finishing at 160/7. Ramandeep Singh (35) and Rovman Powell (31*) provided some late resistance, but the game was already out of reach.

This was CSK's second win in a row after poor start to the season, while KKR still have not won a single game in the competition.