Ajinkya Rahane played a starring role as Chennai Super Kings moved top of the Indian Premier League after beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 49 runs.
Rahane knocked an impressive 71 from just 29 balls – including five sixes – while Devon Conway and Shivam Dube also brought up 50 as the Kings recorded their third straight victory at Eden Gardens.
After the Knight Riders elected to bowl, Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad ensured a steady start for the Kings, who were 59-0 at the end of the Powerplay.
Suyash Sharma eventually broke the stand when he bowled Gaikwad for 35, but Conway and Rahane kept the Kings on track, the former bringing up the half-century off 34 balls.
Varun Chakaravarthy eventually claimed Conway for 59, but the Rahane-Dube partnership chalked up a combined 85 off 32 balls.
Kulwant Khejroliya eventually bowled Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, but Rahane was unbeaten as the Kings finished on 235-4.
But the Knight Riders’ record chase stalled early on as they lost Sunil Narine and Jagadeesan Narayan inside the opening two overs.
Jason Roy boosted their quest with three successive sixes from Moeen Ali on his way to reaching 50 off just 19 balls, before eventually falling to Maheesh Theekshana for 61 off 26.
Rinku Singh embarked on a late rally with an unbeaten 55 from 33 balls, but it proved academic as the Knight Riders fell short at 186-8 and suffered their fourth successive defeat.
Rahane leads the way
Rahane played an instrumental role in moving the Super Kings to the IPL summit. The former India captain top-scored with a quickfire 71 from just 29 balls.
Forming solid partnerships alongside Conway and Dube, he hit 11 boundaries during his impressive stand, including five stunning sixes.
Another 50 for Conway
The form of Conway has been pivotal in his side’s impressive streak of form. Indeed, he has now scored a half-century in each of the Super Kings’ last four victories.
Taking his tally of runs in this season’s IPL to 314, Conway is second to only Faf du Plessis (405), who is also the only player to better his number of half-centuries in the competition with five. (Sportsmax)
