A clinically all-round Kolkata Knight Riders beat defending champions Chennai Super Kings by six wickets as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's first tournament fifty in three years went in vain in the IPL 2022 lung opener at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Unburdened by captaincy, Dhoni, who relinquished the leadership role just two days back, smashed an unbeaten 50 off 38 balls to take CSK to 131 for 5 after being put in to bat. But, KKR, who lost to CSK in the last season summit clash, chased down the target with nine balls to spare, with out-of-favour India batter Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with a 34-ball 44.
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Rahane, who was bought for Rs 1 crore by KKR after playing very few matches for Delhi Capitals last season, was in good touch as he hit six fours and one six during his knock. He shared 43 runs for the opening wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (16) and that was the highest partnership for KKR in the end.
Nitish Rana (21), new captain Shreyas Iyer (20 not out) and Sam Billings (25) made useful contributions to give KKR a winning start to the tournament. Iyer thus started his KKR captaincy with a win while his counterpart Ravindra Jadeja, who replaced Dhoni as CSK skipper, began his stint with a loss.
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Iyer hit the winning runs, a boundary, as KKR reached 133 for 4 in 18.3 overs. Dwayne Bravo (3/20) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Earlier, a vintage Dhoni was on display as the former captain’s unbeaten knock lifted Chennai Super Kings after they were 61/5 at one stage.
Opting to bowl, Umesh Yadav snapped two wickets, while Varun Chakravarthy (1/23) and Andre Russell (1/38) also kept things in check as CSK found the going tough. But along with his new captain Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out), Dhoni stitched a 70-run stand for the sixth wicket to post something on board for the bowlers.
Dhoni, playing for the first time after 12 seasons without wearing the captain's armband, was the top scorer for CSK. Dhoni's last IPL fifty was 84 not out versus Royal Challengers Bangalore on Apr 21, 2019.
Robin Uthappa (28) also chipped in. Meanwhile, before the start of the play, BCCI felicitated Tokyo Olympians, including gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, with cash awards. The Board handed Chopra a cheque of Rs 1 crore while Tokyo Games bronze medal-winning boxer Lovlina Borgohain was given Rs 25 lakh for her achievement.
The men’s hockey team, which had also won a historic bronze medal at the quadrennial multi-sport event in Tokyo, was also handed a combined cheque of Rs 1 crore. Captain Manpreet Singh picked up the cheque from BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly in the presence of Board Secretary Jay Shah.
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Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings: 131 for 5 in 20 overs (MS Dhoni 50 not out; Umesh Yadav 2/20) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 133/4 in 18.3 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 44, Sam Billings 25; Dwayne Bravo 3/20) by six wickets.
