CSK Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Noor Ahmad Shines In Super Kings' 32-Run Victory; Knight Riders Still Winless

 Left-arm spinners Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein capitalized on a sluggish pitch to power Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a 32-run victory over the winless Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 22 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday (April 14, 2026).

Ahmad (3/21 in four overs) claimed all his wickets in the space of seven balls and Hosein strangled batters with a parsimonious spell of 1/26 to limit Kolkata to 160 for 7. The Knight Riders are still searching for their first win in the tournament after four defeats and one point from a rain-abandoned game against Punjab Kings.

ALSO READ: CSK Vs KKR Highlights

The Super Kings, at No. 8 in the points table after back-to-back wins, had earlier posted 192 for 5 mainly due to their strong powerplay of 72 for 2. Ayush Mhatre made 38 off 17 balls and Sanju Samson started the innings with three consecutive fours on the off side against fast bowler Vaibhav Arora (1/55).

CSK restricted Kolkata to 36 for 2 in the power play despite Ajinkya Rahane demoting himself down the order after the skipper struggled to give his team strong starts. The promotion of Sunil Narine saw the left-hander score 24 off 17 balls with two fours and two sixes, but Finn Allen (1) yet again perished inside the power play when he skied a simple catch to point.

Narine got a life when CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad dropped a straightforward catch, but he couldn’t make the most of it and sliced a low full toss of Khaleel Ahmed to short third in the fifth over. Ahmad then ran through the middle-order with the wickets of Rahane and Kolkata’s big-money signing Cameron Green off back-to-back balls when he bowled the tall Australian with a quicker delivery.

Rinku Singh denied Ahmad a hat-trick but fell soon after when he attempted a big shot against the left-arm Afghan spinner but holed out at mid-on. Ramandeep Singh (35) and Rovman Powell (31 not out) never looked to threaten the target against some disciplined Chennai bowling, with fast bowler Anshul Kamboj (2-32) and Ahmed (1-24) also among the wickets.

Earlier, spinners played a key role in pulling things back for Kolkata when Narine (1/21) and Varun Chakravarthy (0/26) squeezed the runs in the middle overs. Samson, who also hit three sixes, succumbed to the pace of Kartik Tyagi in the 12th over when the fast bowler cleaned him up with a delivery that clocked 148.1kph.

Dewald Brevis (41) and Sarfaraz Khan (23) shared a 51-run stand before Narine ended his spell by castling Khan in the 17th over. Tyagi followed with the wicket of Brevis when the South African batter sliced a tame catch to short third and Kolkata added 50 off the last five overs.

CSK Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Toss Update

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings. A fit-again Varun Chakravarthy returned to the KKR playing XI in place of Navdeep Saini. The Super Kings went with an unchanged team.

CSK Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Substitute: Finn Allen

Chennai Super Kings Impact Substitute: Akeal Hosein