Faf du Plessis smashed an unbeaten 60-ball 95 and Deepak Chahar yet again scalped four as Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in a high-scoring game in IPL 2021.
Despite poor form, Chennai persisted with Ruturaj Gaikwad and he bounced back with a fine 64. He along with du Plessis (95*) added 115 for the opening wicket.
After Gaikwad's dismissal, du Plessis continued in the same vein with able support from Moeen Ali (25) and MS Dhoni (17) as Chennai posted a massive 220 for three.
Defending the total, Chahar again bowled a brilliant spell (4 for 29) and Lungi Ngidi (3 for 28) took one to leave Kolkata wobbling at 31 for 5 in 5.2 overs.
Big-hitting Andre Russell, hit six sixes in a breezy 22-ball 54 and combined with Dinesh Karthik (40) to put up 81 runs and keep Kolkata in the hunt.
Pat Cummins rose to the occasion after the dismissal of Russell but ran out of partners as Kolkata eventually fell short by 18 runs.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings: 220 for 3 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 95; Varun Chakravarthy 1/27)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 202 all out in 19.1 overs (Pat Cummins 66 not out, Andrew Russell 54; Deepak Chahar 4/29).
(Photo credit: PTI)