IPL 2023: Rinku & Rana’s Resilience Rescues Win for Kolkata Over Chennai

IPL 2023: Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana built a match-winning 99-run fourth-wicket stand for the Knight Riders.

Kolkata Knight Riders remained alive in the IPL 2023 playoffs race, albeit by the skin of their teeth, courtesy of a six-wicket triumph over Chennai Super Kings. Chasing a target of 145 runs in match 61, which was held in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, Kolkata crossed the finish line in 18.3 overs.

Although the chase was fairly comfortable at the end, Kolkata did not get to the best of starts with the bat. It was, rather, quite the opposite, with Deepak Chahar running riots with the new ball.

The pacer dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz in his first over, before sending Kolkata’s impact player, Venkatesh Iyer back to the pavilion in his second over. Given an extended run, he had another wicket to his name in his third over, with Jason Roy departing after a 12-run contribution.

The tides, however, turned in Kolkata’s favour since the introduction of their skipper, Nitish Rana, and the man of the hour, Rinku Singh. The pair opted for the cautious approach, as after 10 overs, Kolkata’s score read only 67/3.

That being said, it did not take them long to tame the asking rate, as a couple of big overs helped them get into the three-figure mark in the 14th over. Both batters recorded their half-centuries by the 17th over, and although Rinku did lose his wicket to a Moeen Ali direct hit, it barely had any effect on the scheme of things.

Chennai Pull Things Back at the Death

Earlier, KKR’s underperforming bowling unit had a decent outing, as they restricted the hosts to a total of 144/6. Although their total might not inspire much confidence, Chennai had a decent start with the bat, with the opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway taking advantage of the fielding restrictions, coupled with Kolkata’s inexperienced new-ball bowlers.

With the Chepauk surface having enough purchase for the spinners, Varun Chakaravarthy was introduced as early as the fourth over, and it proved to be the correct judgement on Nitish Rana’s part.

In only his first over, Chakaravarthy got the better of Gaikwad, as the opening batter departed for a 13-ball 17. A former Knight, Ajinkya Rahane could not inflict much damage upon his previous employers, as he departed in Chakaravarthy’s next over, with only 16 runs to his name.

All this while, Kiwi batter Devon Conway did a decent job of anchoring Chennai’s innings, until he too followed Rahane and Gaikwad in their long stride back to the pavilion. In the next over, Sunil Narine announced his return among wickets, with not one but a couple of scalps, in the form of Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali.

With the hosts struggling at 72/5, and Kolkata’s spinners wreaking havoc, it seemed a score as low as 130 would require an effort and a half to get to, but Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja came to Chennai’s rescue.

Unlike many of their predecessors, the pair opted to find footing before considering acceleration, as the next five overs produced all but 27 runs.

However, a 16-run 17th over, which was bowled by the young Suyash Sharma, marked the commencement of a switch in balance.

The next three overs produced 29 runs, taking Chennai’s total to 144/6, as Shivam Dube remained unbeaten on a 34-ball 48. For Kolkata, Sunil Narine was the most influential bowler, as he not only picked up a couple of wickets, but conceded merely 15 runs in his four-over spell.