Highlights: IPL 2019, CSK Vs KKR: Chennai Beat Kolkata By Seven Wickets To Reclaim Top Spot

It was supposed to be a titanic tussle, but Deepak Chahar's opening burst reduced it to a one-sided match even though Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made the process little slow, probably enjoying or just being their experience – not rushing to the things. On the contrary, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) just did the opposite, going after the CSK bowlers and eventually paying the prize.

But there's Andre Russell. He played one of his slowest innings, even refusing to take singles, to make sure that his team crosses that magical 100-run mark. Then again, a target of 109 runs against CSK at Chepauk will, most often than not, have only one result.

And that's what happened tonight.

The result leaves CSK and KKR swapping spots on the points table.

Brief Scores:

KKR: 108/9 (Andre Russell 50 off 44, Dinesh Karthik 19 off 21; Deepak Chahar 3/20, Harbhajan Singh 2/14, Imran Tahir 2/21)
CSK: 111/3 in 17.2 Overs (Faf du Plessis 43 not out off 45, Ambati Rayudu 21 off 31; Sunil Narine 2/24 in 3.2 Overs, Piyush Chawla 1/28)

Man of the match: Deepak Chahar

(REPORT| SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLE | 2019 ELECTION SPECIAL)

11:39 PM IST: Five wides from Sunil Narine and it's over in Chennai. CSK beat KKR by seven wickets 16 balls to spare. CSK-111/3 (17.2 Over).

11:21 PM IST: Hard working Prasidh Krishna completes his spell. His figures: 4-0-23-0. CSK-93/3 after 16 overs. Faf du Plessis unbeaten on 34 off 41, while Kedar Jadhav on five from three. CSK need 16 runs from 24 balls.

11:12 PM IST: Piyush Chawla is the man for KKR. Took two catches, then had Ambati Rayudu caught at short extra by Nitish Raina. FoW-81/3 (14.4 Over), Rayudu made 21 off 31.

11:05 PM IST: Two five-run overs as Chennai inch closer to a win. Sunil Narine conceded five singles as Faf de Plessis and Ambati Rayudu continue to rotate the strike. Piyush Chawla also leaked fiove singles. CSK-73/2 after 13 overs. They need 36 runs from 42 balls.

10:52 PM IST: Faf du PLessis hits his first four, in 23 balls. Patience is the key in tricky chases like this one. Two good overs for CSK - eight from the 10th, bowled by Harry Gurney, with a four in that and six runs from the 11th, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. And that Faf four happened off the fifth ball. CSK0-63/2 after 11 overs. They need 46 runs from 54 balls.

10:41 PM IST: KKR continue to fight back. Two three-run overs, one each from Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav. But with a target of 109, they need wickets. CSK-49/2 after nine overs. 14 runs from the last four overs. They need 60 runs from 66 balls. Time out.

10:34 PM IST: Two good overs for KKR as Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav concede five and three runs from their respective overs. CSK-43/2 after seven overs. They need 66 runs from 78 balls.

10:24 PM IST: Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla combine again. Suresh Raina lofts the last ball of the fifth over mid-on, but Chawla takes a stunning catch, running back. A fe rolls on the ground to give some special effects. CSK-35/2 after five overs. They need 74 more runs.

10:17 PM IST: Eight runs from Prasidh Krishna's second over, including a four off the fourth ball, hit by Suresh Raina. CSK-33/1 after four overs.

10:10 PM IST: Sunil Narine strikes for KKR. He had Shane Watson caught at midwicket by Piyush Chawla. FoW-18/1 (2.2 Over). Suresh Raina joins Faf du Plessis.

10:07 PM IST Prasidh Krishna starts his spell with a two-run over. KKR will need lot of those. CSK-14/0 after two overs. They need 95 runs.

10:02 PM IST: What a start to the chase for Chennai. Shane Watson picks the half-volley from Piyush Chawla and lofts it over extra cover for a four. Watson hits the fifth ball for a six, over cow corner. 12 runs from the over.

9:43 PM IST: Six fielders inside the circle as Harry Gurney faces the face ball of the last over from Scott Kuggeleijn. A single to rotate the strike and Andre Russell gets the strike. Something's got to happen here. Russell swings it and a ball fields at deep midwicket. Russell hits the third ball for a six over deep mid-wicket and 100 for KKR. But, he's in pain. Then a four to deep square leg. A dot, then a four, beating the long-off fielder. 15 runs from the last over. KKR-108/9. Russell returns unbeaten on 50 off 44.

9:36 PM IST: And 'no run' continues. Andre Russell hits the first ball of the penultimate over to long-on, but understably dunderstandablynst taking a single. A yorker, and dot. Russell hits the third ball for a six over long-off. Three dots and Russell will not face the first ball of last over. KKR-93/9. Russell, meanwhile, needs medical care.

9:29 PM IST: Andre Russell hits the first ball of the 18th over through mid-wicket. A four.  A double off the second ball. Russell, struggling with running, opts not to take a single after playing to deep mid-wicket. A wide, down the leg as Scott Kuggeleijn misses the line. Another no run after playing to long-on. Now Russell takes a single with one ball remaining. Gurney plays the last ball to the third man, but no run taken. KKR-87/9 after 18 overs.

9:23 PM IST: Ravindra Jadeja returns for his last over. And Andre Russell rotates the strikes, to give the strike to Prasidh Krishna. And the KKR tailender is gone. Caught by Harbhajan Singh mid-on. FoW-79/9 (16.3 Over). Last man Harry Gurney joins Russell. And he blocks the remaining three balls.

9:19 PM IST: Harbhajan Singh leaks just two singles from his last over, for figures of 2/15. KKR-77/8. Andre Russell is running out of partners. He's 22 off 27. Now or never for him.

9:16 PM IST: Match resumes and a run-out. Kuldeep Yadav not even on the frame. FoW-76/8 (15.4 Over)

9:13 PM IST: Harbhajan Singh gets his second wicket. He had Piyush Chawla (8 off 13) stumped by MS Dhoni. Easy one. FoW-76/7 (15.3 Over). Time out.

Whistlepodu: Imran Tahir in the act against KKR at Chepauk. AP Photo

9:09 PM IST: Imran Tahir on with his last over. Two dot balls to Andre Russell, but the Jamaican drills the third ball for a four past long-off fielder. Another dot and Dhoni listens to Tahir's suggestion to go for an LBW. No bat, and it was missing. Review wasted. A single to end the spell. Five runs from it. Tahir's figures: 2/21. KKR-75/6.

9:04 PM IST: Scott Kuggeleijn gets his first over of the match. Two dot balls to Andre Russell. Then, Ravindra Jadeja restricts a certain six to a single. Brilliant fielding effort at deep mid-wicket. Russell hits the fifth ball for a four. Seven runs from the over. KKR-70/6 after 14 overs.

8:57 PM IST: Harbhajan in non-top action. He drops Andre Russell, off the second ball of the second ball. And Imran Tahir is furious. Tahir then sees the fifth ball of his third ball hit for a six by Piyush Chawla. Seven runs from the over. KKR-63/6 after 13 overs.

8:55 PM IST: Harbhajan Singh leaks seven runs from his third over, including a six hit off the second ball by Andre Russell. KKR-56/6 after 12 overs.

8:51 PM IST: MS Dhoni stumps Shubman Gill. Off the first ball of Imran Tahir's second ball. That's superb work from MS Dhoni. New man Piyush Chawla takes three balls to take a single. Again, another stumping? Asks the question. Chawla just manages to get inside the safety line. Not out. KKR-49/6 after 11 overs.

8:48 PM IST: One quick over from Ravindra Jadeja. A double off the first ball and a single off the second, and four dots to Andre Russell. KKR-47/5 after 10 overs.

8:44 PM IST: And that brought Andre Russell in the centre, and he soon deployed defensive shots. Seven runs and a wicket from Imran Tahir's first over. KKR-44/5 after nine over.

Imran Tahir celebrates the wicket of Dinesh Karthik. AP Photo.

8:41 PM IST: Another one gone! Imran Tahir had Dinesh Karthik (19 off 21) caught by Harbhajan Singh at midwicket. FoW-44/5 (8.4 Over). Time out.

8:37 PM IST: Harbhajan Singh returns for his second over. Four runs from it -- two singles and a double. KKR-37/4 after eight overs.

8:30 PM IST: Ravindra Jadeja continues with his second over. Five runs from it, including a four, off the third ball, hit past point by KKR captain Dineh Karthik. KKR-29/4.

CSK pacer Deepak Chahar celebrates one of his three wickets inside the KKR power-play. AP Photo.

8:25 PM IST: Third over on the trot for Deepak Chahar. And Robin Uthappa hits the first ball for a four, beautiful cover drive. He follows it up with a four, this time a pull shot. A beautifully timed straight drive, for a dot.

Deepak Chahar dismisses Robin Uthappa. AP Photo.

Then Uthappa (11 off nine) perishes. Loose shot. Caught at cow corner by Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav was the only man posted in the outfield, and Uthappa found him with his pull shot. FoW-24/4 (4.4). Shubman Gill is the new man for KKR. Four down inside the power-play. Eight runs from the over, and Chahar's figures so far: 3-0-14-3.

8:20 PM IST: Ravindra Jadeja into the attack. Dinesh Karthik hits the third ball for a four, edge and beats first slip. Seven runs from the over. KKR-16/3 after four overs.

8:16 PM IST: One run and a wicket from the over. Dinesh Karthik joined Robin Uthappa. KKR-9/3 after three overs.

8:14 PM IST: Deepak Chahar, who as involved in both the dismissals so far, continues with his second and gets his second. He had new man Nitish Rana caught by Ambati Rayudu at mid-wicket. F0W-9/3 (2.3).

Harbhajan Singh celebrates after taking the wicket of Sunil Narine. AP Photo.

8:10 PM IST: Robin Uthappa joins Sunil Narine in the centre even as MS Dhoni introduces Harbhajan Singh into the attack.  And Narine (6 off 5) gone, caught at by Deepak Chahar at backward square leg. FoW-8/2 (1.5 Over). Two runs from the over.

8:06 PM IST: Chahar, right-arm medium pacer, succeeds in keeping dangerous Chris Lynn quiet for four balls, with the first run of the match, a leg-bye, coming from the fourth ball. Sunil Narine takes a single off the next ball, and four overthrows from Ambati Rayudu. Then the wicket. Chahar traps Lynn in front. KKR-6/1.

8:01 PM IST: Deepak Chahar starts the proceedings, a dot to Chri Lynn. KKR have Sunil Narine as the other opener.

7:42 PM IST: Here are all-important head-to-head stats:

Overall: Matches – 18, Chennai Super Kings – 11, Kolkata Knight Riders – 7.
In Chennai: Matches – 8, Chennai Super Kings– 6, Kolkata Knight Riders – 2.

7:36 PM IST: Both the teams are playing with the same teams.

Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(wk & c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Scott Kuggeleijn, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(wk & c), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney, Prasidh Krishna

7:33 PM IST: Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and elected to bowl.

Meanwhile, watch Ravindra Jadeja playing a cool prank with MS Dhoni just ahead of the match:

7:16 PM IST: All eyes will be on CSK captain MS Dhoni and KKR all-rounder Andre Russell. But the likes of Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Imran Tahir, Shane Watson, etc will be eager to prove their worth in the clash, which will decide the table topper at the end of round six of IPL 2019.

Here are the squads:

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni ( c & wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan (wk), Scott Kuggeleign.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Nikhil Naik, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, K C Cariappa, Yarra Prithviraj. 

7:00 PM IST: Chennai Super Kings have lost only once in their last 16 matches at the iconic Chepauk, but tonight, they face an in-form Kolkata Knight Riders with Andre Russell in their ranks. Russellmania grips the world's most popular T20 cricket league with a series of performances. But the Jamaican didn't get a chance in their last outing against they thrashed Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.