KOLKATA, India, CMC- Sunil Narine’s Kolkata Knight Riders powered to an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings with two overs to spare in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here yesterday.
Narine picked up an important wicket at a crucial stage as KKK restricted MS Dhoni’s men to 154 for four before overhauling the target and losing just two wickets in the process.
The Trinidadian destroyed a bold effort to consolidate by removing Brendon McCullum who had joined forces with Suresh Raina.
McCullum was gone for 28 after a terrific catch by Suryakumar Yadav
Narine’s West Indies team mate, opener Dwayne Smith experience rare failure when he was bowled in the second over of the day for five runs, a setback for Super kings.
Smith, caught on the crease playing down the wrong line, had his off stump knocked over by Pat Cummins playing in his first game in IPL 7
But McCullum (28 off 22 balls) smashed 16 runs off Cummins’ next over and teamed up with Raina (25 0ff 32 balls) in a solid second wicket stand that yielded 54 runs.
Robin Uthappa made his fourth half-century of the season and teamed up with Gautam Gambhir to put on 64 runs for the opening partnership in seven overs for KKK.
The win took Knight Riders level on Rajasthan Royals with 14 points from 12 games, helping them break further away from the crowded middle of the table.