Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 22 Match Summary

Over and out - Right then, that is it from this game, where Chennai Super Kings make it two wins on the trot, marking the joyous occasion of the Tamil New Year with a victory, while Kolkata Knight Riders will still have to wait for their first win as the rest begin to pull away. The action in IPL 2026 now shifts to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Lucknow Super Giants on 15th April, Wednesday. The match begins at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as always, you can join us early for all the build-up. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Noor Ahmad wins the award for his superb spell, finishing with figures of 4-0-21-3. Noor says he is happy to contribute to the team’s win. He mentions that there was dew around and it was quite humid, so he tried to keep his fingers dry. Noor shares that he focused on hitting the right areas and was pleased with how the pitch behaved, noting that the ball was not coming onto the bat nicely, which allowed him to take advantage. Ahmad says performances like this give him a lot of confidence, and he is keen to keep putting in the effort for the team. He also highlights that varying his pace worked well for him, adding that operating above 90 kph was effective on this surface.

The victorious skipper of the Chennai Super Kings - Ruturaj Gaikwad says that he is definitely feeling very good. Adds that they defended a good score, it was a par score, and the wicket changed drastically after the first 7-8 overs, starting to slow down. Mentions that they were looking at something around 210 at first, but felt 190 was a good score on this surface. They had to get a good Powerplay with the ball, and they managed that and never lost the grip. Gaikwad shares that it is slowly starting to come together for them. Everyone knows their roles, and they are adapting and adjusting really well to the conditions. They are getting better with each game. Further adds that they were ready to use Prashant Veer if they were a batter short, but with the pitch slowing down, playing both Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad made sense. With Narine opening, they did not use Akeal in the Powerplay, but still, with two right-handers, they knew they could throw the ball to him if needed. Gaikwad says that they probably dropped everything that came their way and only took a few. It was humid, and there was a lot of sweat on their hands, but he does not want to use that as an excuse, and they need to improve. As long as they show the intent and energy, they will be fine even if they drop a few. Ruturaj ends by saying that despite the low scores, he is in a good place mentally, and as long as the others are making up for it, he is happy for the team.

Presentation Time...

Let's hear from CSK's Akeal Hosein now - Hosein says it was good to see a proper cricket wicket, one that offered something for everyone. He adds that the spinners read the surface well and exploited the assistance on offer. He mentions that using natural variations was key on this pitch and stresses the importance of hitting the stumps consistently. Akeal says he is very happy for Noor Ahmad, noting that he had been struggling over the last couple of games but had been working hard behind the scenes.

The captain of Kolkata Knight Riders - Ajinkya Rahane praises his side’s effort with the ball, highlighting the way they pulled things back after conceding 72 in the Powerplay to restrict the opposition to 192. Jinx shares that the middle phase was challenging for batters, especially against spin. Rahane feels that the team needed one batter to stay till the end and take the innings deep. On the team combination, Ajinkya says it has looked really good over this game and the last. He admits that not winning matches is tough, but stresses the importance of keeping their heads up and staying positive as a group. Rahane also speaks highly of Kartik Tyagi, saying he has been working hard in the nets and is a great talent. He is happy for him, and Rahane believes that Tyagi is improving with every game.

Spinners spin it CSK's way - Chennai Super Kings were excellent with the ball, making up for the slight slowdown at the death with a superb Powerplay, where Anshul Kamboj and Khaleel Ahmed struck early and kept things tight. If KKR's spinners impressed, CSK's were even better, with Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad spinning a web around the middle order, combining for 4/47 in 8 overs, with Noor picking up a three-fer to build confidence ahead of the next game. Overton was held back for the death and went wicketless, but by then the game was firmly in Chennai’s grasp, while Kamboj returned to nail his yorkers to perfection, finishing with two wickets, though the only area they’ll look to tidy up is their catching, having put down three chances

Strong start, no final surge for CSK - Earlier in the game, Chennai Super Kings posted a competitive total, with Sanju Samson and Dewald Brevis scoring 40s, while Ayush Mhatre provided early impetus with a brisk 38 off 17 in the Powerplay, though they couldn’t quite finish strongly. For Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunil Narine was the standout with 1/21. The spinners combined for 2/68 in 10 overs. Vaibhav Arora was a touch expensive despite a wicket, while Kartik Tyagi impressed with two wickets and a strong finish at the death to keep CSK under 200.

Another collapse derails KKR - Kolkata Knight Riders sent Sunil Narine to open, but it didn’t quite work, as they lost Finn Allen early, and despite a few lusty blows, Narine too fell inside the Powerplay with the score at just 36/2. Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi steadied things with a 50-run stand, but much like the previous game, they lost their wickets in quick succession despite getting lives. With the asking rate climbing, Rinku Singh and Cameron Green failed to make an impact, leaving them further on the back foot as another middle-order collapse, now a growing concern, hurt their chase. Ramandeep Singh and Rovman Powell tried to revive hopes with a 63-run stand, but the target ultimately proved too much.

Chennai Express back on track - The Chennai Express has finally picked up pace, with two back-to-back home wins, finding rhythm at just the right time in the season. It didn’t come easy, but they handled the key moments better than the away side. Plenty of food for thought for Kolkata Knight Riders, who remain winless after five games and firmly rooted at the bottom of the table.

A dot to end the game. A comprehensive win for CSK by 32 runs. It is their second straight win after losing their first three games. Kamboj slants it across the batter, full in length. Powell moves across the stumps and swings for the hills but misses. Not given as a wide and Rovman reviews, more in hope than anything else. The replays show that Powell is standing slightly outside the off stump, and the ball is passing well within the revised guideline.

SIX! Kamboj misses, and Powell cashes in. Anshul goes searching for the yorker but ends up serving a friendly full toss, on the pads. Rovman picks it up nicely off the pads and parks it into the stands beyond deep backward square leg.

Not allowing the batter to get under it. Almost in the blockhole, on the off stump. Roy drills it to mid off for a single.

The next batter in is Anukul Roy.

OUT! CAUGHT! A sharp catch by Sarfaraz Khan. Going away with the angle, Kamboj attempts the yorker but it comes out as a low full toss. Ramandeep hangs low and takes it on the full. He tries to angle the bat face in a way to guide it past short third. He fails to get it wide enough and Sarfaraz gets low quickly to his left to snaffle it.

Low full toss, outside off. Ramandeep reaches out and hits it to cover without much timing.

Wide! Kamboj targets the leg pole with a full delivery. Singh walks inside the line to get it away but misses. Not far away from the leg stump but it has been given as a wide.

FOUR! Good cricket all around! Kamboj bowls the wide yorker from around the wicket. Ramandeep Singh shuffles across, gets his bat down in time and slices it to the right of the man at deep backward point for a boundary.

Overton bends his back and digs it in short, over middle. Rovman Powell does not quite get hold of it on the pull and it goes only as far as deep square leg. Noor Ahmad is behind square in the deep and he runs across to his left. He ends up overrunning the ball but the second run was always on. The deep mid-wicket fielder backs Noor up and he hauls it in.

CSK have also run out of time to finish their 20 overs. They will be handed a penalty for Slow Over Rate in the final over, but it will not have any effect on the outcome of the game.

Wide! Lands it on a back of a length and it is the off-cutter. It spins down leg and Powell misses as he swings across the line.

A big swing and a miss! Rovman Powell has a perplexed look on his face. He feels that it should be a wide. Powell has sent it upstairs. Overton dishes out the off-cutter, full and outside off. Powell is standing on the off stump and he throws the kitchen sink at it but fails to connect. The replays confirm that the ball was well within the guideline.

A sharp and quick bumper from Overton at 143.8 kph. Powell looks to take it on but is beaten for pace and the ball zips over his right shoulder.

Good response from Overton. A yorker on the off stump. Singh squeezes it out wide of point and gets to the other end.

FOUR! Cleverly done! Pace off and into the surface, over middle. Ramandeep Singh gives himself a bit of room and gets under the ball. Plays the upper-cut over the man at short third for a boundary.

Bashes the hard length, over middle. Ramandeep Singh swings across and pulls it to the left of deep square leg. With this brace, the 50-run stand comes up.

Who bowls the 19th? It will be Jamie Overton.

Superb execution throughout the over from Kamboj. Slips in the yorker right at the base of the off pole. Ramandeep jams it out through point for another single. Just 7 runs off it, and the task gets even steeper for KKR.

So far, so good from Kamboj. Almost in the blockhole, on middle and leg. Powell gets the front leg out of the way and smears it off the inner half behind square leg for one.

Gets the wide yorker in, Ramandeep steers it to deep backward point for one.