KKR vs CSK: CSK wilts under Gill and Karthik’s assault

Shubman Gill, part of the triumphant India under-19 World Cup team, showed glimpses of his potential when he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a morale-boosting six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in their Vivo-IPL contest at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Gill enthralled the packed house, equally divided in purple and yellow patches, with his poise and control as he played a crucial knock of 36-ball 57 and contributed in a match-winning unbroken partnership of 83 runs off 36 deliveries with captain Dinesh Karthik, who raced to 45 off 18 balls.

KKR’s fifth win, achieved with 14 balls to spare, propelled it to the third spot.

Knight Riders’ chase did not have an ideal start as Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa were dismissed early. Sunil Narine, who was dropped by Ravindra Jadeja off consecutive deliveries from K.M. Asif, notched up a characteristic 20-ball 32.

The 18-year-old Gill started brilliantly, hitting Watson for three fours in an over, but displayed patience when KKR was four down for 97 in the 12th over. The Punjab batsman, who added 33 with Rinku Singh, batted with maturity and switched gears at the right time to flay the CSK bowlers.

Gill pulled and cut Asif for three sixes in the 15th over and hit two fours off Jadeja in the next to get his maiden half-century.

Flying start

Earlier, CSK had a flying start, thanks to some clinical hitting by the accomplished opening duo of Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis.

CSK’s run glut continued even after du Plessis was done in by a wrong ’un from Piyush Chawla. Watson, who played the big shots with a straight bat, and Suresh Raina, who slapped Chawla and Andre Russell for two fours each on either side of the wicket, made merry.

However, KKR fought back in the middle overs as Narine and Kuldeep mixed precision with variety, while Shivam Mavi bowled impressively. Watson pulled Narine straight to the mid-wicket boundary and Raina played Kuldeep to long-on in successive overs, putting the skids on the Chennai team.

CSK, which was at 121 for four, finally got some boost when M.S. Dhoni opened his arms in the 16th over.

Dhoni, who was let off by Gill on the square-leg boundary off Kuldeep on 29, scored an unbeaten 43 off 25 balls, underscoring his value as a finisher, as the team finished at 177 for five. He was the major contributor in his 54-run partnership with Jadeja.

It pleased the CSK skipper’s die-hard fans, who had been chanting ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’ even before they entered the arena.