Gambhir leads KKR to scratchy win over hosts CSK

Tags: Indian Premier League - 2012, Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders 41st Match at Chennai - Apr 30, 2012, Gautam Gambhir, Debabrata Baidya Das, Suresh Kumar Raina

Published on: Apr 30, 2012

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

DLF IPL 2012: Chennai Super Kings lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets in Match 41 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Kolkata Knight Riders just managed to defeat hosts CSK by 5 wickets with the match going into the final over despite the target being just 140. Skipper Gautam Gambhir led the way for KKR with a solid 63 from 52 balls (with 6 fours and a six).

KKR are now sitting pretty at no.2 in the points table with 6 wins from 10 matches. They would perhaps need two more wins from the remaining six games to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals. CSK meanwhile are struggling with just four wins in 10 matches!

Debabrata Das got the Man of the Match for his two crucial boundariesWell it was a solid start for KKR chasing the target of 140 with Skipper Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis (26 from 31 balls with a four and a six) putting up a 70-run stand for the 2nd wicket. The visitors weren’t exactly cruising through to a victory as their batsmen struggled to get the big boundaries coming on what was a slow pitch. The match opened up slightly when Skipper Gautam Gambhir (63 from 52 balls with 6 fours and a six) was lbw to Dwayne Bravo in the 19th over.

Just when CSK sensed an opportunity with 16 runs to defend from 11 balls, Debabrata Das came up with a crucial cameo which sealed the match with a couple of boundaries. Drama continued in the final over with KKR needing 6 to win. Yusuf Pathan who collected two runs in the first two balls got dismissed in the third ball in an attempted slog off R Ashwin. However, in the fourth ball, Debabrata Das (11* from 4 balls) finished the match in style with a boundary. Interestingly, Debabrata Das got the Man of the Match although his contribution in the game was just a catch and the 11 not out!

CSK struggle to reach 139/5

Chennai Super Kings struggled to reach 139 for 5 on a slow and dry pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against Kolkata Knight Riders. None of the homeside batsmen could play any explosive knock and the runs only came mostly through ones and twos.

Suresh Raina, coming in at no.3 was the top scorer for the hosts with 44 from 34 balls (with 4 fours and a six). Skipper MS Dhoni worked hard for an unbeaten 34 (from 30 balls with 2 fours). Sunil Narine with 1 for 24 in 4 overs and Jacques Kallis with 2 for 21 in 4 overs bowled well for KKR.

Toss and Teams: Hosts Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and elected to bat first against the Kolkata Knight Riders in MA Chidambaram Stadium. Australian Michael Hussey gets his first game of IPL 5 taking the place of Nuwan Kulasekara. Yo Mahesh replaces Wriddhiman Saha which is the second change in the CSK XI.

Chennai Super Kings: S Badrinath, F du Plessis, MEK Hussey, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper), RA Jadeja, DJ Bravo, JA Morkel, R Ashwin, SB Jakati, VY Mahesh

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