Pat Cummins on Wednesday an unbelievable knock against Chennai Super Kings, but he could not prevent Kolkata Knight Riders’ another defeat in the ongoing IPL.
Batting first, Chennai Super Kings made 220-3 in 20 overs with Faf du Plessis remaining not out at 95 that he faced just 60 balls to score. His blistering knock included four sixes and nine boundaries. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who added 115 runs in 12.2 overs for the first wicket with Faf du Plessis, made 64 in 42 balls.
Faf du Plessis was unlucky to not have completed what would have been a well-deserved century.
The run-chase by Kolkata Knight Riders started on a disastrous note as their top six batsmen added just 28 runs. It took Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russel to rebuilt the KKR innings. Russel was out after making 54 in 22 balls with his knock including six sixes and three boundaries. Karthik was out for 40 that he took just 24 balls to score.
Pat Cummins raised the hopes for an unlikely win for the KKR after he hit Sam Curran for four sixes and a four in the 16th over. Curran conceded 30 runs in his third over. Cummins, who completed his fifty in just 23 balls, remained unbeaten at 65, which he took 33 balls to score.
In the end, the KKR fell short of 18 runs even though they fought valiantly. Deepak Chahar took four wickets for the CSK while Lungi Ngidi picked up three wickets. Sam Curran dismissed one batsman.
Talking about his side’s loss, Eoin Morgan said, “The pulse is quite high at the moment. One hell of a game. Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik put a partnership together and following that Pat Cummins gave us every chance towards the end. Tremendous fight from the middle and lower order. You ride the emotions throughout the day. The first five overs of batting didn’t go our way. We didn’t play as well as we would’ve liked. We can be happy with the.new ground, different challenges. Going back to it, I don’t think there was any margin for error for the bowlers. We need to be kinder to the bowlers. You really need to be on the money. I tend to stay away from Dre after he gets out. It’s great he’s in this sort of form. Disappointing that the rest of us couldn’t help him out.”
A visibly ecstatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, “Quite easy in a game like this. From the 16th over onwards the contest was between the fast bowler and the batsman. You can’t do too much. Can’t put different field. It’s about you vs me. The side that has one is a side that has executed slightly better. But if they would’ve had more wickets, could’ve been different. Have seen enough in cricket, always like to be humble. There’s no good reason if you have scored, the opposition can’t score. My lines to the players was that we have got good runs on the board but let’s be humble. You don’t want to take too many early wickets. Big hitters coming in, 200 runs, there’s only one way they’ll play. Not much you can do. The only option was Jadeja. It was turning, was a bit dry.”
Faf du Plessis was declared Man Of The Match for his unbeaten knock of 95.
