Chennai beat Kolkata off the last ball to move back top of the IPL table; Ravindra Jadeja hits 22 from eight balls before falling with the scores level; Deepak Chahar hits winning single as Super Kings reach target of 172; CSK seamer Sam Curran taken for 56 runs from his four overs
Sunday 26 September 2021 19:22, UK
Ravindra Jadeja's boundary-laden late cameo helped Chennai Super Kings to a thrilling last-ball win over Kolkata Knight Riders as they moved back top of the IPL table.
Jadeja (22 off eight balls) went six, six, four, four off Kolkata seamer Prasidh Krishna in the penultimate over, which had begun with Chennai requiring 26 to overhaul KKR's 171-6.
Chennai subsequently needed just four from Sunil Narine's final over but made hard work of it, losing Sam Curran (4) from the first ball and then, after Shardul Thakur's three had brought the scores level, Jadeja fell fifth delivery.
However, Deepak Chahar hit the final ball for a single through midwicket to take Chennai to a third win in a row and an eighth in 10 matches overall, which moved them above Delhi Capitals on net run-rate.
Kolkata, who suffered their first defeat since the resumption in the UAE, had fought their way back into the game by dismissing Moeen Ali (32), Suresh Raina (11) and MS Dhoni (1) in the space of six balls.
CSK subsequently slipped from 138-3 in the 17th over to 142-6 in the 18th but Jadeja's onslaught off Prasidh in the 19th took Dhoni's men to the brink of victory and they eventually squeezed over the line.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (40 off 28) and Faf du Plessis (43 off 20) had earlier put on 74 for Chennai's first wicket inside nine overs.
Kolkata had been labouring on 93-3 from 13 overs after electing to bat, only to plunder 78 from their final seven and 44 off the final three as Andre Russell (20 off 15) and Dinesh Karthik (26 off 11) tucked into Curran (0-56 from four overs) and Josh Hazlewood (2-40) also proved expensive at the death.
Nitish Rana contributed 37 not out from 27 balls, while Rahul Tripathi scored 45 off 33 but captain Eoin Morgan made just eight.
The IPL action continues on Monday as Rajasthan Royals take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai. Watch live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 2.50pm.
