IPL 2019, CSK vs KKR: Spinners derail Kolkata to send Chennai at the top

A clinical Chennai Super Kings maintained their unbeaten run at home with a seven-wicket thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

The hosts put up a top-class bowling effort yet again after winning the toss, limiting KKR to 108 for nine despite an unbeaten 50 off 44 balls from the dangerous Andre Russell.

With the dew making batting easier in the second half of the match, CSK chased down a rather comfortable target in 17.2 overs.

Shane Watson (17 off 9) smashed two fours and a six early on in the run chase before falling to a soft dismissal of spinner Sunil Narine.

Suresh Raina (14) too did not cash in on the opportunity to make a big score and perished in an attempt to hit Narine out of the park, leaving CSK at 35 for two in five overs.

Since the asking rate was not an issue, Faf du Plessis (43 not out off 45) and Ambati Rayudu (21) went about their job with little difficulty.

Earlier, the under-rated Deepak Chahar, who returned with impressive figures of three for 20 from four overs, rattled the KKR top-order with early strikes, including that of the big-hitting Chris Lynn.

Harbhajan Singh (2/15), Imran Tahir (2/21) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/17) put the brakes on the KKR batting with a disciplined effort.

Nitish Rana (0) became Chahar’s second victim, taken smartly by Rayudu.

A lot was expected of skipper Dinesh Karthik but he flattered to deceive, hammering a shot off Tahir straight into the hands of Harbhajan at mid-wicket.