IPL 2018, KKR vs CSK: Hits and Misses

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Gill guided KKR home with his maiden IPL half-century

Put into bat first, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got off to a blistering start as Faf du Plessis went after the bowling right from the start.

The South African skipper scored 27 in quick time before he was castled by Piyush Chawla. Shane Watson, on the other hand, started off sedately and was looking in good form but like his opening partner, Watson failed to convert his start.

MS Dhoni finished with a flourish once again as he struck a 25-ball 43 (hitting four sixes and one four). CSK posted 177 in their 20 overs despite struggling in the middle overs as the KKR spinners bowled very well.

Chasing almost nine runs an over, Chris Lynn was dismissed after hitting a couple of sixes in the first over.

Like the previous games, Narine once again gave KKR a good start. After that start, it was Shubman Gill who scored an excellent 57 to take KKR home.

Dinesh Karthik was once again superb as he struck an 18-ball 45 and helped KKR get their fifth win of the season.


#5 Hit: MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni once
MS Dhoni was once again finished off the innings in style

Dhoni has been absolutely brilliant in this IPL. After Ambati Rayudu, he has been CSK’s best batsman.

He scored a blistering 22-ball fifty in the last game against Delhi Daredevils which was his second-fastest fifty in IPL history.

He was once again very good in this game. He strode out to the centre in the 12th over and like most of his innings in recent times, he started slowly.

He reached five off eight balls before hitting his first six of the game in the 16th over. Then the former Indian skipper got stuck into Mitchell Johnson hitting him for a couple of sixes in the latter’s last over as he provided impetus to the CSK innings.

However, he couldn’t get much of the strike in the last couple of overs but it was his 43 that took CSK to 177. It was Dhoni’s late overs charge that helped CSK get 56 runs in the last five overs.

#4 Miss: Robin Uthappa

Image result for robin uthappa 2018
Uthappa failed to get going and was out for just six runs

Ever since moving to KKR, Robin Uthappa has been very consistent. He’s scored more than 350 runs in every season since 2012.

And even in this season, Uthappa has looked in sublime form. However, he’s getting good starts but just hasn’t been able to convert it into a big score.

In this game, the 32-year-old batsman started well as he struck an elegant boundary. But he fell trying to hit a pull shot of a back of length delivery and only managed to get a top-edge.

He was out for just six runs as youngster KM Asif took his wicket. Even while KKR was on the field, Uthappa was a bit lethargic and a bit sloppy.

#3 Hit: Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine was excellen
Sunil Narine was excellent with both bat and ball

Sunil Narine has always been a big part of KKR right from the time he was picked in 2012. In this season, he was excellent in the first few games where he took seven wickets in the first four games. He also smashed a 17-ball 50 in the first game against RCB.

However, he hasn’t been at his best in the last few games and has taken just 1 wicket in the last four games.

In fact, he didn’t pick a single wicket in the last two games and also conceded more than 35 runs in both outings.

But the West Indian mystery spinner came back strongly as he took 2/20. He came into bowl in the fourth over of the innings and gave away just five runs, despite conceding a boundary. He then came in the 11th over to dismiss the dangerous Watson.

And then in his last two overs, he just conceded eight runs and also picked up the wicket the in-form Rayudu. After a couple of disappointing outings, Narine was back in form with the ball.

With the bat, Narine once again gave KKR a fast start as he scored 20-ball 32 which including four fours and two sixes.

#2 Miss: Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja did pick
Ravindra Jadeja did pick up the wicket of Sunil Narine but was underwhelming with both bat and ball

Ravindra Jadeja has had a very poor IPL so far. He has really struggled with the bat and hasn’t bowled a lot but in whatever he has he’s been quite underwhelming. He hasn’t gone past the 20-run mark even once and has taken just two wickets (before today).

Once again, he was scratchy with the bat as he scored a run-a-ball 12 and couldn’t find the boundary even at the death.

He failed to even rotate strike, especially with an in-form Dhoni at the other end. He once again was promoted above Dwayne Bravo and didn’t get going.

However, what was surprising to see was his performance in the field. He dropped Sunil Narine twice in two balls and let the West Indian off the hook.

Though he came back and removed Narine, Jadeja still conceded 39 runs in his four overs.

#1 Hit: Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill finally came good
Shubman Gill finally came good

Gill has been rated very highly in recent times. He won the Man of the Tournament in the Under-19 World Cup this year but hasn’t quite lived up to expectation in this IPL.

His highest score (before today) was 37 which came in a lost cause against KKR. However, he was batting mostly at No. 6 and hence was not getting enough opportunities.

But with Nitish Rana missing out due to an injury, Gill got the chance to bat in the top four and delivered with an excellent half-century.

The Punjab-born batsman came into bat at the fall of Uthappa’s dismissal. He started really well as he struck three boundaries off Watson and got going. He rotated strike very well in the middle-overs and also found the odd boundary.

He finished with a superb unbeaten knock of 57 (which comprised six fours and two sixes) and took KKR home.


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Edited by Alan John