Chennai Super Kings' impressive bowling helped the MS Dhoni-led side register a comfortable seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk on Tuesday.
With the win, CSK have moved up to the top position in the IPL points table with five wins and one loss, while KKR have slipped to the second place with four wins and two losses.
Chasing a below-par target of 109, Chennai openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis got off to a decent start on a sluggish pitch, adding 18 for the opening wicket.
Sunil Narine got a major breakthrough as he struck Watson (17) to keep the mood upbeat. In quick succession, the off-spinner dismissed Suresh Raina (14), only to see a 46-run blossomed partnership between du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu.
Kolkata tried its best to pull things back in a one-sided contest. Despite sending Rayudu (21) back off leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, an unbeaten 30-run stand by du Plessis and Kedar Jadhav helped Chennai seal the match with 16 balls to spare.
Du Plessis, unbeaten on 43, smashed the winning runs, including two consecutive boundaries, to fast bowler Harry Gurney.
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Earlier, Chennai rattled Kolkata line-up after sent in to bat. Paceman Deepak Chahar continued with his sensational tournament - three wickets in the Powerplay- and caught Sunil Narine (6) courtesy off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Kolkata have had recovered many times from collapses, but it was not the case today. Chahar got rid of Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana for nought each, and Robin Uthappa (11) after conceding two boundaries.
Early collapse meant it was up to skipper Dinesh Karthik (19) and Shubhman Gill (9) to settle the nerves and they managed for a while, adding 20, before leg-spinner Imran Tahir dismissed the duo in quick succession, leaving Kolkata struggling at 47/6.
Amidst brilliant collapse, Andre Russell along with Piyush Chawla added 29 before Harbhajan sent Chawla back for 8 and soon after run-out Kuldeep Yadav for a duck. Joining the party, spinner Ravindra Jadeja got a piece in Prasidh Krishna for nought of the second ball.
Although Harbhajan dropped Russell on eight, Chennai successfully kept the lone warrior quiet to some extent and restricted Kolkata to 108 for the loss of nine. The Jamaican all-rounder snatched 14 runs, including one desperate six, from fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn in the last over to remain unbeaten on 50.
Chennai will next face Rajasthan Royals on April 11, while Kolkata will host Delhi Capital on April 12.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 111/3 (F du Plessis 43*, AT Rayudu 21, SP Narine 2-24) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 108/9 (AD Russell 50*, DL Chahar 3-20, Harbhajan Singh 2-15, Imran Tahir 2-21) by seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.