For Chennai Super Kings, Nehra's Best Goes Waste in Champions League Twenty20 Tie vs KKR

Chennai Super Kings crashed to their first defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League Twenty20 competition in Hyderabad on Wednesday. This despite a superb bowling spell from former Indian speedster Ashish Nehra.

Defending 159 runs, Nehra gave Chennai Super Kings a rocking start as Kolkata Knight Riders crashed to 21 for four wickets in the fifth over. Nehra simply knocked out the KKR top order claiming the first three batsmen cheaply to give Chennai a dream start.

Manvinder Bisla (2), Gautam Gambhir (6) and Manish Pandey (0) failed to handle Nehra's left-arm pace on a hard wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Nehra also bowled Andre Russell in the 17th over but by then the West Indian all-rounder and Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate had already turn the course of the thrilling game with a sixth-wicket 80-run stand.

Kolkata's first win over Chennai in the Champions League Twenty 20 was their sixth in 15 games against CSK. KKR have won five and lost five out of 11 contested in the Champions League Twenty20 (No Result 1).

Nehra (4/21) has produced his best bowling performance in Twenty20. Nehra is the third Chennai bowler to produce a four-wicket haul in Champions League Twenty20, joining Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina.

Nehra's figures are the second best by a Chennai bowler in the Champions League Twenty20, next only to Ashwin's four for 18 against Wayamba at Centurion on September 15, 2010. Nehra was also the first bowler to bag four wickets in an innings against Kolkata in Champions League Twenty20.

(With inputs from Rajesh Kumar)