Noor Ahmad stood up for CSK after underwhelming performances in the initial games. Noor Ahmad was going for runs and was wicketless, but the tide turned in this innings. The CSK spinners spun a web and never allowed KKR to get going at all. CSK were asked to bat first, and thanks to Sanju Samson’s 48, Ayush Mhatre’s 38, and Dewald Brevis’ 41 off 29 balls, the Men in Yellow posted a competitive 192/5 in 20 overs.
In reply, CSK spinners never allowed KKR to get away. They bowled immaculate lines and lengths, and KKR did not know what hit them tonight. Noor picked up 3 wickets while Hosein picked up one wicket as the Super Kings had a good day in the office. Anshul Kamboj picked up 2 wickets as well as the others chipped in as KKR was restricted to 160/7 in 20 overs, losing by 32 runs.
Sanju Samson & Dewald Brevis’ Solid Knocks Help CSK post 192/5
Put into bat first, keeper batter Sanju Samson opened the batting with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad while Vaibhav Arora had the ball in hand for KKR. Sanju came out quickly off the blocks and took the attack to the opposition while Gaikwad was circumspect as usual. CSK, through Samson, were quickly off the scoring, and the opening duo put on 25 for the first wicket before Gaikwad fell for 7 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Anukul Roy. Ayush Mhatre came out to bat next.
Mhatre was quickly off the blocks and was the aggressor in the partnership, while Samson played second fiddle to Mhatre. It was a splendid partnership as they put on 47 off 22 balls for the second wicket before Mhatre fell for 38 off 17 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Vaibhav Arora. Dewald Brevis came out to bat next as CSK were 72/2 in 6 overs of power play.
But things slowed down for the CSK in the middle overs. The spinners of KKR kept the batters under check as CSK were pulled back by the Men in Purple. Sanju continued to play his shots while Brevis got himself in and looked fluent out there in the middle. The duo put on 39 for the third wicket before Samson was cleaned by Kartik Tyagi for 48 off 32 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Sarfaraz Khan came out to bat next as KKR were tightening the screws on CSK.
Brevis looked fluent, while Sarfaraz looked to mistime the ball a lot at the start as he was not getting the timing right. He struggled to get going and later on played his shots while Brevis looked a class apart. Brevis looked more fluent than Sarfaraz. The duo still put in a handy stand and put on 51 for the 4th wicket before Sarfaraz fell for 23 off 18 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Sunil Narine, who cleaned him up. Shivam Dube came out to bat next.
Brevis, too, did not last long as he fell after getting a start. Just 9 runs were added by Brevis and Dube before Brevis fell for a good-looking 41 off 29 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Tyagi. Jamie Overton came out to bat at the back end of the innings. Dube and Overton were at the crease for the end overs, and they finished things off in the remaining 2.3 overs. The duo could muster 21 runs in those overs as KKR bowled well in the death overs, led by Kartik Tyagi. Neither player could get underneath the ball and time it.
CSK finished with a competitive 192/5 in 20 overs, with Dube unbeaten on 13 off 12 balls with one four to his name, while Overton finished with an unbeaten 7 off 6 balls with one four to his name. 15 extras given by the KKR team, and loads of them were wides.
Kartik Tyagi was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, finishing with 2/36 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine finished with excellent figures of 1/21 in 4 overs. Anukul Roy finished with 1/21 in 3 overs. Vaibhav Arora finished with 1/55 in 4 overs. Cameron Green went for 30 runs in 2 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 0/26 in 3 overs. This meant that KKR needed 193 runs to win the contest and win their first game this season.
CSK’s spinners, led by Noor Ahmad’s 3-wicket haul, keep KKR down to 160/7
Chasing 193 for their first win this season, Impact Player Finn Allen and Sunil Narine came out to bat for KKR while Khaleel Ahmed had the ball in hand for CSK. CSK bowlers were disciplined with the ball and did not allow the KKR team to get off to a start. Narine got a few away, but Allen disappointed again as he fell after the duo put on 14 for the first wicket before Allen fell for 1 off 3 balls to Anshul Kamboj. Captain Ajinkya Rahane came out to bat next.
Rahane and Narine tried to forge a partnership as CSK were sloppy in the field a little bit. Narine was dropped by Ruturaj Gaikwad off Kamboj when the batter was on 18, and the score was 22. But it did not cost CSK much. The duo of Narine and Rahane added 16 runs to the tally for the second wicket before Narine finally fell for 24 off 17 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Khaleel Ahmed. Angkrish Raghuvanshi came out to bat next.
KKR never really got going in this innings; we are being brutally honest about it. Rahane and Raghuvanshi tried to forge a stand as well, but the required rate was climbing high all the time. Rahane and Raghuvanshi built a steady stand as they tried to keep CSK at bay. Raghuvanshi was dropped by Brevis as he misjudged it off Hosein’s bowling when the batter was on 12 and the score 48 in the 8th over.
We also had the 3rd dropped catch of the innings as Hosein was the unlucky bowler, as captain Rahane was dropped by Sarfaraz Khan when Rahane was on 24 and the score was 78/2 in the 10th over. The duo added exactly 50 runs to the tally before Raghuvanshi fell for 27 off 19 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Akeal Hosein, who deserved the wicket as Brevis took the catch. Rinku Singh came out to bat next.
Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Rahane, who was given a reprieve earlier, fell for 28 off 22 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Noor Ahmad. Cameron Green came out to bat next and was cleaned up on the first ball by Noor Ahmad, who had two in two balls. Rovman Powell came out to bat next. It was a struggle for Rinku out there in the middle. The duo added 5 runs to the tally before Rinku fell for a struggling 6 off 12 balls to Noor yet again. Ramandeep Singh came out to bat next with the score at 90/6 in 12.5 overs.
The game was as good as over, but the duo showed resistance out there and gave some respectability to the score. They had a good partnership, which saved the team some blushes. The duo played some shots but were tied down by the CSK bowling. They added 63 runs for the 7th wicket before Ramandeep fell for a well-made 35 off 23 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Kamboj. Anukul Roy came out to bat towards the end.
Powell played some lusty blows towards the end and got a maximum away as the KKR team ended with 160/7 in 20 overs with Powell unbeaten on 31 off 22 balls with one four and two sixes to his name, while Anukul Roy was with him, unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 7 extras given by the fielding team.
CSK bowlers bowled well out there, with spinners doing the damage from CSK’s point of view. Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/21 in 4 overs. Anshul Kamboj finished with 2/32 in 4 overs. Impact Player Akeal Hosein finished with 1/26 in 4 overs. Khaleel Ahmed finished with 1/24 in 3.5 overs. Gurjapneet Singh finished with 0/23 in 1.1 overs, while Jamie Overton finished with 0/32 in 3 overs. So, CSK thrash KKR by 32 runs and move to 8th in the table while KKR stays at the bottom. Noor Ahmad was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, CSK have won two matches in a row and managed to climb one place to 8th position, and will next face SRH on Saturday in Hyderabad. There is no rest for KKR at this stage as the Knights will next face the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Friday. KKR also meets the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday as well. So, a lot to look forward to for both teams as KKR stays winless at the moment. The next game in IPL 2026 features defending champions RCB against LSG from Bengaluru.
Let’s see how things unfold in the coming days.
Also Read:Â CSK vs KKR: CSK Set A Challenging Target For KKR