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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) comprehensively in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Saturday.
Chasing the paltry target of 132, the Knight Riders started pretty well, with Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane surviving the powerplay overs quite successfully. The duo added 41 runs for the opening wicket before Dwayne Bravo drew the first blood by removing Venkatesh for 16 runs.
Rahane, however, continued scoring runs and went on to form another crucial stand of 33 runs for the second wicket with Nitish Rana before Bravo yet again derailed the run-flow by getting rid of Rana (21) in the 10th over. But, soon, Rahane lost his concentration and got dismissed for a well made 44 runs by Mitchell Santner.
But due to the low total, the Super Kings couldn’t put enough pressure as the Knight Riders eventually won the match by six wickets.
Earlier, MS Dhoni turned the clock back at the Wankhede Stadium after he smashed eight boundaries, including a six on his way to a half-century off just 38 deliveries. The former CSK skipper came in to bat when his team was struggling at 61/5 in 10.5 overs.
Dhoni (50 no) and captain Ravindra Jadeja (26 no) played watchfully to ensure the KKR bowlers did not capitalise further. The pair went on to add unbeaten 70 runs for the sixth wicket to take the Super Kings to a decent total of 131/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Apart from Dhoni and Jadeja, Robin Uthappa chipped in with a crucial 21-ball 28 before Varun Chakravarthy dismissed him. Pacer Umesh Yadav picked up a couple of wickets while conceding 20 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Mystery spinner Sunil Narine was the least expensive bowler, giving away only 15 runs in 4 overs.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
What a start to #IPL2022 ! 🙌😍#KKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #CSKvKKR #GalaxyOfKnights #কেকেআর pic.twitter.com/J5pJfIMWkt
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 26, 2022
Good result for Shreyas and kkr. Death bowling will need a bit of tweak though going forward. #KKRvsCSK
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 26, 2022
KKR start their campaign with a win. Impressed with Shreyas Iyer's captaincy. Good bowling changes. MSD was brilliant with his hitting. Rahane played a good innings. Bravo picked 3. Congratulations @KKRiders #CSKvKKR #IPL2022
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) March 26, 2022
This is the second occasion #CSK has lost their opening game as defending champs.
They had lost their first game in 2012 to Mumbai Indians at Chennai after winning the title in 2011#IPL #IPL2022#CSKvKKR #CSKvsKKR#KKRvCSK #KKRvsCSK— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 26, 2022
KKR start their IPL 2022 campaign on a high.#CSKvKKR Scorecard: https://t.co/r9B2NmMVJw pic.twitter.com/Efv4NHk9nt
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) March 26, 2022
Shreyas Iyer has upped the game. Aggressive yet imaginative captaincy, appears to be a bowlers’ captain @ShreyasIyer15 #KKRvsCSK #CSKvsKKR #IPL2022 @sports_tak
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) March 26, 2022
Well played by @msdhoni.
He started slowly but used his experience and a combination of composure, aggression and common sense to get @ChennaiIPL to where they are.Their bowlers will have to bowl exceedingly well to defend the total on this pitch. #CSKvKKR pic.twitter.com/BmfKRyDJOd
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 26, 2022
Top stuff.. picture abhi baaki hai @msdhoni @ChennaiIPL @IPL
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 26, 2022
THALA IS BACK!!#MSDhoni #CSKvKKR
— Parvati (@paro_nair) March 26, 2022
Oldest Indian to score an IPL fifty:
40y 262d – MS Dhoni v KKR, today
40y 116d – Rahul Dravid v DC, 2013
39y 362d – Sachin Tendulkar v DC, 2013#IPL2022 #CSKvKKR— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) March 26, 2022
Believe in NO 7 !! @msdhoni #CSKvKKR 💪🏼
TAT 4 on the COUNTRY IS WORLD CLASS !!
Flick from the Strongest Wrist ✊🪧🙌🏿#MSD ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0aGvk97Qgl— thaman S (@MusicThaman) March 26, 2022
Bravo's T20 experience is such an asset. Gives a great insight into why CSK wanted him around so badly.
— KSR (@KShriniwasRao) March 26, 2022
MS Dhoni tonight: #CSKvKKR #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/9ULnPyxrne
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 26, 2022
Ajinkya Rahane departs after a brilliant 44 in 34 balls. A great return for him in the IPL, he has made the opportunity count. pic.twitter.com/mCuGRH33Xi
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 26, 2022
Shreyas Iyer has started the captaincy stint of KKR with a win, new Era of knights have started.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 26, 2022