Chennai Super Kings are out of the running for a playoff spot but that has not stopped them from being party poopers for other teams. MS Dhoni's team beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), stopping them from going top of the table, and on Thursday, got the better of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), denting their hopes of reaching the playoffs. The heroes on the day were Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja. The latter finishing off the game in style with a brilliant unbeaten cameo to give CSK their second win on the trot.
Current Team India coach, Ravi Shastri took to Twitter to hail the all-rounder, who has a love for horses.
"Great to see a freewheeling Chakra. Horseman outstanding," tweeted Shastri after CSK's win at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Nitish Rana's sublime 87 off 61 balls helped KKR post a challenging 172 for five in their 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers taking a wicket and giving away jusy 20 runs off three overs.
Shane Watson, who replaced Faf du Plessis, once again failed to fire with the bat. But Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu steadied the ship and added 68 runs for the second wicket to put CSK on course.
Varun Chakravarthy, however, got rid of Dhoni cheaply while Gaikwad fell to Pat Cummins a few overs later to put the cat amongs the pigeons. Jadeja walked into bat with the match hanging in the balance but turned the tide in CSK's favour with some lusty blows.
The left-hander smashed an unbeaten 31 off just 11 balls, including two sixes off the final two deliveries to get CSK across the line.
Despite the win, CSK remained dead last, while KKR are fifth but could fall to seventh if SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals win their games in hand.