A phenomenal 80 run stand for the sixth wicket off just 45 balls between Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate saw Kolkata Knight Riders get over the line in fantastic style in the first match in Group A of the Champions League T20.
Having been put in to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings got off to a great start with Brendan McCullum and Dwayne Smith putting on 37 for the first wicket in rapid fashion.
Piyush Chawla, brought in to bowl ahead of Kolkata’s strike bowler Sunil Narine, got Smith in the first over to put the breaks on Chennai’s run rate.
From there KKR's bowlers halted proceedings and Suresh Raina (28), and Faf du Plessis (14) fell after good starts.
Ever reliable skipper MS Dhoni (35*) fired his time to a respectable 157-7, ably supported by Dwayne Bravo (28*).
In reply, the Knight Riders were rattled up front by a brilliant spell from Ashish Nehra, who scalped three wickets for just seven runs in his opening salvo. Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja added to KKR's misery as the IPL champions were left reeling at 51 for five.
The match was in Chennai’s favour and seemed a matter of time before they ensured a resounding opening win.
Russell and Doeschate had other intentions, hwoever, and began an onslaught which the Super Kings had no answer to. Russell reached his half century in just 22 balls before Nehra got him for 58, but the damage had been done.
Kolkata secured victory with an over to spare with ten Doeschate finishing unbeaten on 51 to hand the IPL champions their tenth successive win in T20 cricket.
Moment of the match
When a team is five wickets down against a quality opposition with over 100 runs to win, most batsmen would prefer taking a defensive approach to fight it out till the end and try to lose with a better run rate. But at 51 for five, Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate decided otherwise.
It is said that attack is the best form of defense, but the two put on a show that just proved that. The partnership shows why Kolkata are the reigning IPL champions and this partnership could be the spark that can take them to their maiden Champions League title.
Man of the Match
Andre Russell received the Man of the Match award for his 25-ball 58, which was truly deserved. It was his innings that inspired Kolkata’s comeback and considering the conditions it came in, there certainly was no second contender for the award.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings: 157 for 4 (MS Dhoni 35*, DJ Bravo 28*, P Chawla 2/26) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (A Russell 58, R ten Doeschate 51*, A Nehra 4/21)
