Kolkata Knight Riders nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback to chase down 221 against Chennai Super Kings despite losing five wickets in the Powerplay. However, Pat Cummins - playing an absolute blinder - ran out of batting partners as KKR fell 18 runs short in the end. After fiery fifties from Andre Russell and Pat Cummins and a handy knock from former captain Dinesh Karthik nearly rescued the team from being 31/5 at one point, it was a question of what could have been for KKR.
However, team co-owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan chose to leave that question aside on the night and praise the team's fighting spirit.
"Coulda...woulda...shoulda can take a backseat tonight..." he tweeted on Wednesday after the match.
"@KKRiders was quite awesome I feel. ( oops if we can forget the batting power play!!)," he added, jokingly.
"well done boys... @Russell12A @patcummins30 @DineshKarthik try and make this a habit...we will be back!!" he concluded.
After a 95 from Faf du Plessis and a half-century for fellow opener Ruturaj Gaikwad helped CSK post 220/3, KKR got their chase off to the worst possible start.
Deepak Chahar took his second four-wicket haul of the season as the KKR top order was blown out of the water.
Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik then brought the team back from the dead, as Russell smashed a quickfire half-century before being bowled by Sam Curran. Struggling for form since the beginning of the season, Russell smashed three boundaries and six sixes as he finished with 54 runs off just 22 deliveries.
Dinesh Karthik, who scored 40 off 24 balls, also played a big role, but when he fell to Lung Ngidi, it felt like the chase was done for KKR.
But Cummins then stepped up with the bat, and once again brought KKR back in the game when he scored 30 runs off a Sam Curran over.
However, he ran out of partners in the end, and remained unbeaten on 66 off 34 deliveries. He hit four fours and six sixes as he registered his highest ever IPL score.