KKR vs CSK - M26 Report & Stats: IPL 2013

Match Report:

The battle between last season’s finalists saw Chennai Super Kings beating Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Ravindra Jadeja starred for CSK with ball and bat as he first picked up three wickets to restrict KKR for just 119, before playing a match-winning knock of 36 off just 14 deliveries to see his team home. 

CSK captain Dhoni(L) and KKR captain Gambhir at the toss during match 26 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Superkings held at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on the 20th April 2013

Chasing a modest 120, CSK sprung a surprise opening with Ravichandran Ashwin alongside Michael Hussey. However the ploy didn't work as Ashwin (11) struggled to get going before he was caught at short mid-wicket off Sunil Narine. CSK managed only 27 runs from their power play before Murali Vijay (2) was given out leg before off Sachithra Senanayake. 

Suresh Raina (7) was caught at long-on by Narine off Yusuf Pathan to give KKR their third wicket. Eoin Morgan ran out MS Dhoni (9) as KKR fought back. With KKR drying up the runs, CSK required 50 runs off the final five overs. Jacques Kallis rattled Subramanium Badrinath's (6) stump to bring Jadeja to the middle. The all-rounder started off in fantastic fashion slamming a huge six straight away. Hussey (40) then fell to Lakshmipathy Balaji caught by Pathan at deep square-leg. Jadeja smashed another six, this time off Narine, before hitting Kallis for consecutive boundaries. CSK reached the target with five balls remaining.

Earlier electing to bat skipper Gautam Gambhir got KKR's innings underway with two boundaries in the first over. Pathan, opening the innings, too started aggressively with two boundaries off the second. Gambhir (25) then slammed consecutive boundaries off Albie Morkel before a brilliant catch by Hussey cut his innings short. Jaques Kallis (0) was run out without facing a single delivery, courtesy of a brilliant throw by Badrinath. Dwayne Bravo then turned the match on its head first having Morgan (2) caught before running out Pathan (25) to leave KKR stuttering at 55 for 4 in 8 overs.

Debabrata Das (19) launched Ashwin for a six before the bowler came back to trap him leg before. Ashwin then had Manoj Tiwary (13) caught in the deep. The collapse continued as Jadeja struck twice to dismiss Rajat Bhatia (1) and Laxmi Shukla (1). Narine played a short cameo hitting two sixes before holing out to give Jadeja his third wicket. KKR eventually finished at 119 for 9 from 20 overs.

Man-of-the-Match: Ravindra Jadeja 

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 119 for 9 (Gautam Gambhir 25, Ravindra Jadeja 3-20) lost to Chennai Super Kings 124 for 6 (Michael Hussey 40, Yusuf Pathan 1-9) by 4 wickets. 

Ms Geeta Kapoor from the show India's Dancing Superstar presents the Star Plus Nayi Soch Award to Ravichandran Ashwin of Chennai Super Kings during match 26 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Superkings held at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on the 20th April 2013 

Stats Highlights:

257.14: Ravindra Jadeja’s strike-rate in the match (36* off 14 balls) – best for any batsman facing at least 10 balls in a match in IPL 2013.

174.62: Jadeja’s strike-rate in IPL 2013 – best for any batsman facing at least 50 balls in the tournament. Fellow team-mate MS Dhoni is second with 159.78

78.43: Mike Hussey’s strike-rate – worst for any batsman in IPL in an innings of 50 balls or more. Kolkata Knight Riders’ Manoj Tiwary had a strike-rate of 90.19 (46 off 51 balls) against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011.

50: Number of matches won by MS Dhoni as a captain in IPL – first player to do so.

2: Number of times Jadeja has scored 25 runs and taken 3 wickets in a match in IPL. He now joins Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson and Kieron Pollard in doing so most often.

Mr Gautam Kundu Chairman of Rose Valley presents the Man of the Match Award to Ravindra Jadeja of Chennai Super Kings during match 26 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Superkings held at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on the 20th April 2013

Presentation

Jadeja is Man of the Match. Jadeja: "It was crucial for us to win this game. There was not enough time to think when I went in, I decided to see it and hit it. I tried to bowl slower in the air, which worked. I played few good shots for my team."

MS Dhoni: "We did not bat well, it is one area where we would like to be more consistent. They batted brilliantly first six overs, few wickets and run-outs brought us back. Bringing the spinners late helped us to rotate. People think it is a T20 game, you have to slog everything, it is not like that. There are two types of batsmen, one who don't think and go after everything, and others who plan and target bowlers. We want him [Jadeja] to be really comfortable in the dressing room. He is loving the part where we are calling him Sir, but it is the one from Hindi [meaning head] and not from English. I don't think he knows that."

Gautam Gambhir: "Some schoolboy errors to be honest. When you bat first, you cannot be 46 for 1 and then 91 for 8. The pitch gets better under lights. Both Senanayake and Narine did a fantastic job by taking it till the last over. We have not been professional enough and not been upto the mark. You cannot expect your bowlers to defend 119 on such a beautiful wicket."

Mr Pralay Mondal Senior Group President of Yes Bank presents the Yes Bank Maximum Sixes Award to Ravindra Jadeja of Chennai Super Kings during match 26 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League between The Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Superkings held at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on the 20th April 2013

source: iplt20.com