IPL 2021, KKR vs CSK Highlight: Chennai clinch the thriller, win by 18 runs at Wankhede

CSK win the match by 18 runs despite Pat Cummins & Russell's heroics. 

Prasidh Krishna run-out and KKR fall short of batters. 

KKR need 20 runs off the last over to pull off a magical finish, Pat Cummins on strike. 

Cummins smokes another one into the stands. 

In a bid to get Cummins back on strike, Chakravarthy gets run out. KKR need 21 off 9 with Cummins on strilke

Pat Cummins leads the Kolkata pursuit, KKR needs 28 off the last two overs with the Australian on strike. Curran to bowl the penultimate over. 

Pat Cummins notches up a 23-ball fifty. KKR need 38 in 17 balls

Pat Cummins needs one run for his fifty and 40 more to take KKR over the line. 3 overs to go. 

Ngidi gets rid of Nagarkoti who tries to go for the slog. KKR need 45 off 22 with just two wickets in hand. 

Pat Cummins smokes another one into the stands, 30 runs off Curran's third over. KKR are 176/7

Cummins smacks Curran's for three sixes in a row. KKR need 55 off 26. 

Dinesh Karthik walks back to the pavillion after valiant fightback. KKR are down to 146/6

Pat Cummins slogs Ngidi for a 75m six, KKR need 76 off 34

Russell continues to hit it out of the park, welcomes Chahar with a maximum

Sam Curran sends Andre Russell back to the dugout, claims his leg stump and KKR are 112/6

Andre Russell puts on a show at the Wankhede, brings up his fifty off just 21 balls. KKR are 111/5

Russell races closer to fifty. KKR 3 short of the 100-run mark after 10 overs. 

Another six and Russell takes his partnership with Karthik over 50

Shardul Thakur goes for a six on his first ball of the match, MS Dhoni seems unhappy. KKR are 79/5

Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell keep the boundaries coming in pursuit of 221. KKR are at 72/5

Most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in IPL:

• MS Dhoni - 151*
• Dinesh Karthik - 143
• Robin Uthappa - 90
• Parthiv Patel - 81

Andre Russell spoils Ngidi's second over, ends powerplay with a six. KKR are 44/6

Rahul Tripathi walks back after nicking Ngidi's delivery. KKR's half side back in the hut.

Chahar sends back Sunil Narine, bags his fourth wicket with the help of Jadeja's spectacular catch. Sunil Gavaskar names the CSK fielder 'Jadugar Jadeja'. KKR at 31/4

Narine promoted up the order after KKR lose three early wickets

Chahar roars as he gets the wicket of Eoin Morgan, KKR reduced to 27/3

MS Dhoni runs wide to grab the ball off Nitish Rana's bat. Deepak Chahar gets his second wicket. KKR are 17/2

Deepak Chahar swings into action and dismisses Shubman Gill in the very first over. KKR are 5/0

Jadeja ends the innings with a maximum but du Plessis misses out on a deserving century. CSK end with 220/3 after 20 overs. 

du Plessis hits a six off Pat Cummins, Sunil Gavaskar terms it a 'sensational shot' on-air. CSK are 207/3

Morgan takes a magnificent catch to dismiss MS Dhoni. CSK are 201/3 with one over to go. 

du Plessis dealing in boundaries, CSK inch closer to 200

MS Dhoni smashes two consecutive boundaries including a six to take CSK to 186/2 after 18 overs. 

MS Dhoni gets his first boundary against Sunil Narine, CSK at 172/2

English all-rounder steps out and smacks Narine for a boundary and a six, CSK are 159/1

Moeen Ali steps out to slog, Karthik stumps the Englishman out. CSK lose their second wicket at 165

Moeen Ali ups the ante with 5 overs to go, smokes Krishna for a maximum. CSK are 150/1

Moeen Ali joins du Plessis in the middle but a wicket does not slow down CSK's scoring rate. Chennai are 142/1 after 14.3

du Plessis brings up his 17th IPL fifty with a boundary. CSK are 120/1

Varun Chakravarthy breaks CSK's opening stand, dismisses Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK are 115/1

A boundary each over for Gaikwad, CSK young gun now hits Prasidh Krishna for a four over the bowler's head. CSK are 10/0

Gaikwad registers his first half-century of IPL 2021, finds lost touch. CSK are 91/0

Gaikwad hits his second six of the game

KKR's mystery spinner bowls tight as Gaikwad inches closer to half-century CSK are 82/0 after 10 overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad spoils Russell's entry, sends him out of the park on the very first ball. CSK are 66/0

End of sixth over, CSK are 54/0 with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis in the middle

du Plessis-Gaikwad take CSK to 40/0 after 4.2

Faf du Plessis finds the perfect gap, hits Chakravarthy for another boundary. CSK are 37/0

After du Plessis' boundary, Gaikwad hits Cummins for a six and four. CSK are 19/0

du Plessis registers 6000 T20 runs with a boundary off Pat Cummins' first ball. 

Chakravarthy bowls tight lengths, CSK are 4/0

Can Ruturaj Gaikwad fire tonight? du Plessis & the CSK young gun walk out to open the innings. Varun Chakravarthy gets the new ball. 

• Kolkata Knight Riders XI: S Gill, N Rana, R Tripathi, E Morgan, D Karthik, S Narine, A Russell, P Cummins, K Nagarkoti, V Chakaravarthy, P Krishna
• Chennai Super Kings XI: F du Plessis, R Gaikwad, M Ali, S Raina, A Rayudu, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja, S Curran, S Thakur, D Chahar, L Ngidi

Chennai bring in Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi, Dwayne Bravo rested. 

Sunil Narine returns to Kolkata playing XI; Harbhajan Singh & Shakib al Hassan benched.

Eoin Morgan wins the toss for Kolkata, puts Chennai to bat first at the Wankhede.

"If you are a specialist bowler then you have to be ready to bowl in all facets, any over of the game but Morgs like to use me as a wicket-taker and the economy is important while taking those wickets. Everyone is so good these days and if you don't take wickets through the middle, no matter who you are, you are going to go for 15-15 runs an over. Wickets are key any time of the match. For me it is about the feel, in warm up and days before the match, just run in and feel the ball in my hand. It is always a pretty nice place to bowl, if you don't bowl in the right areas, you will go for runs. Look forward to a different challenge," says KKR pace spearhead Pat Cummins ahead of the game.

"I am just trying to get going. That's the important thing; get some runs on the board and I am really enjoying the fact that we are all chipping in to put a total. It is obviously a very fast pitch with good bounce, but we have found it to be slow and two-paced. Our batting has worked really well and we have done what is required on the night. It (tilted backlift) started for me as a youngster as I tried to bat like Gibbs and was moving around a lot but when I went to England, I stood still and with the tilted high backlift. It is all about rhythm for me. Woodchopping (name for his unique backlift). It is good to get some wins under your belt as a team. We are playing a really strong team tonight but we have a bit of momentum and a better understanding of the conditions," says Faf du Plessis before the toss.

"We're standing now on the pitch #8, where Punjab got 106 on one night and 195 on another night which was chased. So we have two scores on the extremes of the spectrum. On this surface, we have a few rough marks from the bowlers in the previous games. There is a nice coating of grass and it feels firm. I don't expect to see a lot of turn. It looks and feels like a pitch that can offer some runs," says Ian Bishop while presenting the pitch report

Nearly two years after India's heartbreaking exit from the ICC 2019 World Cup, ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has opened up on his innings that could have led the Men in Blue into the final contest and a step closer to the silverware. Jadeja, who was leading India's comeback alongside MS Dhoni after the top-order crumbled on the reserve day, was dismissed by Trent Boult when he was at 77. Jadeja's fall mounted pressure on MS Dhoni who was eventually run out by Martin Guptil thereby thrashing India's dream of a third World Cup.  Read More Here

Kolkata Knight Riders have had two difficult matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 so far. The KKR team couldn’t carry the momentum from their first victory, losing their last 2 matches against the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The KKR team uploaded a post-match meeting video of the team after their loss against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. KKR coach Brendon McCullum praised Rahul Tripathi for being a massive positive for the team and gave an example of his attitude and commitment to the game. Read more here

Veteran wicket-keeper batsman and World Cup-winning Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's parents have been tested COVID-19 positive and have been admitted to Pulse Super Specialty Hospital in Ranchi. As per inputs, MS Dhoni's father Pan Singh and his mother Devika Devi have been admitted to the hospital on Wednesday. The development has cast a shadow over Dhoni's appearance in the match against KKR later tonight. 

read more here

The Sunil Narine IPL 2021 stint didn't start as he would have desired. The Caribbean all-rounder was left out of KKR's playing XI for the first three games in favour of their latest recruit Shakib al Hasan. However, the Shakib al Hasan IPL 2021 campaign so far has been dismal, to say the least. 

It is likely that Sunil Narine will replace Shakib al Hasan for the game against CSK. In fact, KKR team 2021 head coach Brendon McCullum has also hinted at Narine's return. During the post-match conference against RCB, McCullum said that Sunil Narine stood on the rope before their first game because he had an injury and was not 100 per cent fit. Read more here

The surface at the Wankhede Stadium has always assisted batsmen and fans are treated with high-scoring games more often than not. The tracks for the first two IPL 2021 matches that had been played at the venue were absolute belters with an average score of 204 per innings. However, in the next few games, runs haven't come easy. The batsmen have found it difficult to get going which came as a surprise considering Wankhede's history.

Moreover, during the last game here between CSK and RR, there was ample turn in the pitch which played a major role in determining the result. There was also a lot of dew, which why the captain winning the toss tonight is likely to field first. Change of pace will be key for pacers whereas spinners should look to bowl slow. 

According to the KKR vs CSK h2h record, it is the Men in Yellow who are clear winners. CSK and KKR have locked horns on 23 occasions and it is the Yellow Army who are ahead of Kolkata, 14-8. One game ended in no result.

After a jittery start to the tournament and a dismal IPL 2020 in the UAE, three-time champions Chennai Super Kings have returned to winning ways as they steamrolled over Punjab and Rajasthan in their previous two encounters. Powered by Moeen Ali's all-round show and Ravindra Jadeja's exploits in the field, CSK have been thumping over their opponents as they boast of their return to form. The Men in Yellow seemed to have zeroed down on their playing XI combination of the season but eagerly await Ruturraj Gaikwad's return to form. With the youngster failing to make an impact, it will interesting to see if Gaikwad gets another go or he is replaced by a seasoned opener and CSK's latest recruit Robin Uthappa.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders started their IPL 2021 campaign on a winning note by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, since then, everything has gone downhill for the Men in Purple as they have suffered two humiliating defeats against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. One of the major reasons behind KKR's dismal performance is their over-reliance on the top order. KKR's middle order has failed miserably in the competition and it's time they rise to the occasion and help the side gain two crucial points.