In an exciting IPL 2025 match at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by two wickets thanks to an outstanding 4-31 from left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad and a fast-paced 22-ball fifty from Dewald Brevis.
The five-time champions were reduced to 60/5 as Noor’s spell helped CSK limit KKR to 179/6 on a sluggish pitch. In order to help CSK chase down 180 with two balls remaining, Brevis stepped up and hit 52 off 25 balls, including four fours and as many sixes. Shivam Dube, who scored 45 off 40 balls, provided him with strong assistance as CSK dealt KKR a serious blow to their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.
Ajinkya Rahane, the captain, scored the most runs (48 off 33 balls), followed by Andre Russell (38), and Sunil Narine (26). However, KKR was prevented from over 180 runs by CSK’s spin-squeeze, which was led by Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Noor’s four-fer.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who chose to bat first, smashed a four and a six before flicking off Anshul Kamboj straight to midwicket. KKR finished with 67/1 after Rahane came in and blasted three quick boundaries before Narine smacked him for three fours and a six during the power play.
Shortly after, however, MS Dhoni swiftly whipped off the bails and was out for 26 off 17 balls as Narine attempted a big hoick and was beaten on it by Noor. Angkrish Raghuvanshi was then removed by Noor after Dhoni caught him behind a fantastic googly. Consequently, KKR failed to establish any boundaries in overs 7–10.
Rahane attempted a reverse-sweep to hit out against Jadeja but was caught by backward point for 48 off 33 balls. Before hitting a four and a six against Matheesha Pathirana, Russell entered the game and struck Jadeja for two fours and a six. The spinner had the powerful batsman holing out for 38 off 21 balls after Russell had dismissed Noor for six and four as well.
Rinku Singh was then pulled straight to deep backward square leg by Noor in the last over. Manish Pandey was undefeated at 36 off 28 balls as CSK’s trio of spinners took a combined 5-84 in 11 overs after Pathirana gave up just six singles in the last over.
CSK had a dismal start to the pursuit. After giving Vaibhav Arora a straight-to-the-point smack, Ayush Mhatre was taken by surprise. Urvil Patel made a big impression on his debut by hitting Moeen Ali for two sixes and a four after flicking Vaibhav for six. However, Moeen recovered by putting Devon Conway through the gate and making sure that another CSK opener was dismissed.
To conclude his knock on an 11-ball 31, Patel struck Harshit Rana for six before getting an edge on a loft and getting caught by short third man. After Varun Chakaravarthy’s googly castled Ravindra Jadeja, CSK finished power play at 62/5 after Ravichandran Ashwin’s move to number three backfired when he sliced to backward point off Rana.
Brevis and Dube attempted to salvage CSK’s innings, but Narine and Chakaravarthy placed them under pressure. The five-time champions needed 87 runs from the final ten overs. As 30 runs came off the eleventh over, Brevis ignited a comeback by hitting Arora for three sixes and two fours, reaching his half-century off just 22 balls.
Chakaravarthy, however, ended his incredible knock when he holed out to long-on for 52 off 25 balls. Dube grabbed control after Brevis fell, drawing Andre Russell for a boundary and lofting Harshit Rana for two sixes.
By having Dube hole out to long-off and then having Noor Ahmad make a straightforward catch to long-on, Arora added a twist to the game. Dhoni hit Russell for six with the equation down to eight runs off the last over, and then Anshul Kamboj lofted over mid-off for the game-winning boundary, giving CSK a close triumph.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 183/8 in 19.4 overs (Dewald Brevis 52, Shivam Dube 45; Vaibhav Arora 3-48, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-18) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders 179/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 48, Andre Russell 38; Noor Ahmad 4-31, Ravindra Jadeja 1-34) by two wickets.
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