CSK chase 203 in blockbuster finish to homecoming
Sam Billings turned the match around with 56 off 23, leaving Andre Russell on the losing side despite his record 88
Sam Billings turned the match around with 56 off 23, leaving Andre Russell on the losing side despite his record 88
Commentator: Sreshth Shah
12.15am That's all the action from Chepauk, but hope you haven't chewed all your nails just yet as we have two mouth-watering Champions League clashes coming your way. Can Manchester City overturn a 3-0 deficit against Liverpool? Will Messi get on the scoresheet against Roma? Head right over to ESPN.in and find out. For now, it's goodbye from ESPNcricinfo. Hope you enjoyed this high-scoring thriller. This is Sreshth Shah signing off - adios!
12.05 am James Faulkner and Deep Dasgupta look back on this absolute thriller in Matchday Runorder. Watch on our homepage or on Facebook
12.03am, April 11, 2018. Time for the presentation. Here's the winning captain MS Dhoni. Says: "It feels good, to come back after two years and win. The crowd deserved the first innings, the second innings. Everybody has their own emotion levels, but in the dugout, we like to keep faith in our batsmen or bowler in a particular time. Positive energy helps. My pulse rises too - and that's why we have a dressing room. I express myself in the dressing room but not in the dugout. If you're too expressive in the field, then commentators get a lot of things to talk about. It's good to see Sam bat the way he batted. Yes, we did go for runs, and Kolkata did bat well. Bowlers from both sides had a rough time, but I'm sure the crowd enjoyed."
Sam Billings is the Man of the Match for his match-winning 23-ball 56. "It was a pleasure to play in a team of legends - with Raina, Dhoni and Harbhajan," says Billings. "Mike Hussey's batting coach as well, so need to learn as much as I can from these guys. We keep options in our head, but you have to keep three different plans in place. We showed in the first game (Bravo's blitz), that if you take the game deep, then it's never really lost. Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja in the middle-order are big hitters. We knew no target is out of reach with this batting team."
Kiran Nawathe : "Just one word... "Everyday you can't be Bravo, some days you need to be Sir".. "
11.56pm Chris Lynn consoles Vinay Kumar as the CSK players run in to congratulate Jadeja and Bravo. KKR are distraught, but whaddya expect? It's not everyday that 202 is a losing total in the IPL. The teams shake their hands, but Knight Riders know they missed a trick after posting a 200-plus score. Once again, the team batting second wins... when will this streak end?
Dinesh Karthik, the losing captain, says: "Look, CSK had great support and we were expecting that. Hats off to them. Frustrating not to defend 202, but well done to Andre. These things happen in T20 cricket, so you've got to keep your chin up and move on. Basically, you need to know that you'll lose some games, so it's important to take the positives and not repeat our mistakes."
Shane Watson collects the purple cap for most wickets. He says: "We had to start off quick because of of the total KKR had put up. No question that the fans here are great. Too see the passion that CSK fans have has blown me away. The chase was strategic, but also a do-or-die. Got to home the mis-hits go your way sometimes. It was important to bring the required run-rate down early. My game's continued to evolve, but just to have an opportunity at this stage of this career....I'm very fortunate."
Kunal: "That no ball was a very close call by the umpire. Poor ball by Vinay, but not a no ball in my eyes."
Deep: "My heart sank when Vinay got the ball .. he is the definition of useless T20 commodity - no pace to harry batsmen, no nous with swing or seam to trouble quality batsmen on flat track, conventional action, and absolutely melts under pressure. "
CSK need four off two balls. Fans are praying, so is Shahrukh Khan, I think. Chris Lynn's having a chat with Vinay Kumar. Big ball coming up...
Rangika Munawee: "DK himself could have bowled better"
over the wicket
The Kolkata Knight Riders bowler has taken to Twitter to ask people mocking him to ease off following his unsuccessful defence of 16 in the final over against CSK
A packed crowd at MA Chidambaram stadium experienced a cocktail of emotions, resulting in a win that was 'meant to be'
The Chennai police commissioner advised CSK to "reschedule" the matches in the wake of the protests in the city over the Cauvery river water issue
The IPL returned to Chennai with a flurry of sixes and a huge total by Kolkata Knight Riders. Some of the stats highlights from the innings
The incident occurred in the vicinity of a Chennai Super Kings fielder, prompting the intervention of the police in CSK's first home match in nearly three years