In a edge-of-the-seat IPL 2025 game played at Eden Gardens on Wednesday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clinched a thriller of a two-wicket encounter with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the back of left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad's sensational 4-31 and a whirlwind 22-ball fifty from Dewald Brevis.
Noor's excellent bowling effort limited KKR to 179/6 on a sluggish pitch. Against a challenging opening in which CSK lost 60/5, Brevis turned the match around with a 52 off 25 that included four fours and as many sixes.
With Shivam Dube contributing a 45 off 40 balls, CSK chased down the target of 180 quite easily in two balls, seriously denting the chances of KKR qualifying for the playoffs.
KKR's top scorer was skipper Ajinkya Rahane with 48 runs off 33 deliveries. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine also scored as well with 38 and 26 runs, respectively. But CSK spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Noor choked KKR batting, leaving them far behind 180 runs.
Having opted to bat first, KKR got off to a good start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz hitting a four and a six before getting out to Anshul Kamboj. Rahane responded immediately with three boundaries, and Narine kept the attack going by hitting three fours and a six during the power-play, which came to an end at 67/1 for KKR.
However, CSK stabilized when Noor got Narine out on a googly, caught out for 26 off 17 balls. Noor's brilliant spell resumed as he dismissed Angkrish Raghuvanshi for a duck. In between overs 7-10, KKR did not hit a boundary. Rahane's reverse-sweep off Jadeja was ended with backward point's catch, and Russell's counter-attack with a four and two sixes was terminated by Noor, who dismissed him for 38 off 21 balls.
Noor was also crucial in the final over, cutting back Rinku Singh, while Pathirana was stringent, giving away only six singles. CSK spinners posted combined figures of 5-84 in 11 overs, as Manish Pandey remained not out on 36 off 28 balls.
The target of 180, CSK's innings started in tatters. Ayush Mhatre was dismissed for a duck, and Urvil Patel made an incredible contribution on debut with 31 from a mere 11 balls, over the park for two sixes and a four. Patel's impulsiveness, however, returned to haunt him as he was caught at short third man. CSK's downfall continued with Ashwin and Jadeja being sent back cheaply, with the team in shambles at 62/5 at the power-play.
Brevis and Dube started a fightback, but the spinners, headed by Narine and Chakaravarthy, kept them on their toes. CSK were stuck at one point to requiring 87 runs off the final 10 overs. But Brevis dominated, hitting Arora for three sixes and two fours to complete his half-century in 22 balls. But Chakaravarthy ended his good innings by getting Brevis caught at long-on for 52.
With Brevis' departure, Dube led the charge, hitting two sixes off Rana and one boundary off Russell. Arora then threw in a twist by dismissing Dube and Noor in consecutive deliveries, leaving CSK with eight runs to be scored from the final over. MS Dhoni sealed the victory with a six off Russell, and Anshul Kamboj hit the winning boundary off mid-off to give CSK a nail-biting but crucial victory.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 179/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 48, Andre Russell 38; Noor Ahmad 4-31, Ravindra Jadeja 1-34)
Chennai Super Kings: 183/8 in 19.4 overs (Dewald Brevis 52, Shivam Dube 45; Vaibhav Arora 3-48, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-18)
CSK won by 2 wickets
Read also| Rohit Sharma Announces Test Retirement, Will Continue in ODIs
Read also| Shami Faces Death Threat; Amroha Police Register FIR Following Brother's Complaint
