Ravindra Jadeja hit two sixes in a row in the final over after a half-century from opener Rituraj Gaekwad to give Chennai Super Kings a thrilling six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on Thursday. With this defeat, Kolkata's chances of reaching the playoffs of the 13th season of the IPL T20 cricket tournament have increased. Kolkata are currently fifth with 12 points. Chennai hit a target of 173 on the final ball of the match and won the match by 178 runs for the loss of four wickets. Earlier, Kolkata scored 172 for five with the help of Nitish Rana's half-century.
Chennai had a good start as they reached the target of 173 runs. Rituraj Gaekwad and Shane Watson put on a 50-run partnership. Then Rituraj also recorded a crucial 68-run partnership with Ambati Rayudu. At one point Chennai were 118 for two in 13.4 overs and the team looked set to win easily.
But then the Kolkata bowlers retaliated and Chennai had to work hard to win. Shane Watts scored 14 while Rayudu hit 38 off 20 balls with five fours and a six. Rituraj hit 72 off 53 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Chennai needed 10 runs to win the final over. When Chennai needed seven runs off the last two balls, Ravindra Jadeja hit two sixes off the last two balls of Nagarkoti to give the team the victory. Jadeja hit an unbeaten 31 off 11 balls with the help of two fours and three sixes. For Kolkata, Pat Cummins and Varun Chakraborty were quick for two wickets each.
Earlier, with the help of opener Nitish Rana's aggressive half-century, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 172 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. The opening pair of Shubhaman Gill and Nitish Rana came on the field after receiving the invitation to bat first. The pair gave the team a great start. Gill and Rana shared a 53-run partnership. However, Gill was out after the set. He scored 26 off 17 balls with four fours.
The rest of the players could not survive on the crease for long after the gills were out. Sunil Narine was out for seven and Rinku Singh for 11. However, Rana retained one edge. He hit 87 off 61 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes. In the final overs, Dinesh Karthik batted aggressively to make the team score big.
Karthik immediately batted and hit an unbeaten 21 off 10 balls with three fours. Captain Eoin Morgan also contributed 15 runs. Lungi Nagidi was the most successful bowler from Chennai Super Kings. He was two wickets quick, giving up 34 runs in four overs. While Mitchell Sentner, Ravindra Jadeja and Karna Sharma had one-on-one success.
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