Kolkata Knight Riders registered a surprise 10-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on October 7.

Chasing a target of 168, Chennai looked set to taste victory with Shane Watson (50 off 40 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (30 off 27) at the crease. However, Rayudu’s dismissal when the score was 99/1 in 12.1 overs set off a cascade of wickets from the Chennai side. Watson, who gave a sterling performance in the previous match, was the next to go.

Kolkata bowlers especially Sunil Narine put a brake on the Chennai innings. CSK failed to keep up with the required rate and could come up only with 157-5.

Earlier, Chennai bowlers had restricted Kolkata to 167/9. Dwayne Bravo picked up three wickets for CSK while Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Sam Curran took two each.

New opener Rahul Tripathi (81 off 51 balls) earned the Player of the Match award.

KKR’s celebrity focus

Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been in attendance at his team’s matches including at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. He watched alongside his son Aryan and daughter Suhana his team put up a commendable performance.

Meanwhile, there has been some speculations about KKR batsman Shubman Gill and Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara, a 21-year-old graduate in medicine, being romantically entangled on account of her instagram posts praising his performance.

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Match 12 at Dubai cricket stadium on September 30 saw Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs. This was KKR’s second win in the season while Royals tasted their first loss.

RR captain Steve Smith won the toss and sent Dinesh Karthik’s KKR to bat. Vice-captain Eoin Morgan took KKR to 174/6 in 20 overs. He remained unbeaten on 34. Opener Shubman Gill made 47 off 34 balls and Andre Russel 24.

English pacer Jofra Archer was the most successful RR bowler, taking two wickets while conceding only 18 runs.

Steve Smith was dismissed by KKR Pat Cummins early on in 175-run chase. Tom Curran’s half century was not enough to see the Royals through. RR were restricted to 137/9 in 20 overs.

Youngster Shivam Mavi who dismissed the in-form Sanju Samson and the dangerous Jos Buttler won the Player of the match for his tight spell (2/20).

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Kolkata Knight Riders registered their first IPL victory on September 26 with a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at Abu Dhabi. Chasing a meagre 143, they reached their target with two overs to spare.

KKR opener Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 70 came from 62 deliveries and was studded with five boundaries and two sixes, while England captain Eoin Morgan made an unbeaten 42 off 29 balls with three boundaries and two sixes. Together they put 92 runs for the fourth wicket.

Gill, who was adjudged man of the match, scored his fifth IPL half-century.

After electing to bat, SRH could cobble up only a below-par total of 142 for 4 in 20 overs. No.3 batsman Manish Pandey’s half-century (51 from 38 balls) went in vain. Opener and captain David Warner made 36, while keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha scored 30.
SRH, a former IPL champion, is now the only team without a win so far.

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