KKR Stay Alive For Playoffs, Defeating CSK By 6 Wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders kept their hopes alive in the IPL 2023 playoffs race with a solid performance, as they beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in a thrilling encounter. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh were the stars of the show, as they both scored half-centuries to guide their team to a comfortable victory. KKR reached the 145-run target with 9 balls to spare, thanks to the unbeaten knock of 57 by Rana and a well-made 54 by Rinku.

KKR got off to a shaky start with early blows from Deepak Chahar, who dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer and Jason Roy in his three overs, reducing KKR to 33/3 in 4.3 overs. However, Rinku and Rana combined to add 99 runs for the fourth wicket and took control of the chase. Rinku was eventually dismissed for 54(43) after a direct-hit by Moeen Ali, but Rana ensured that KKR reached the target comfortably.

Earlier, KKR won the toss and chose to field. Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine were the pick of the bowlers, as they both picked up two wickets each to restrict CSK to 144/6 in 20 overs. Narine was particularly impressive, conceding only 15 runs in his four overs. Their efforts helped KKR reduce CSK to 72/5 in 11 overs, before Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube added 68 runs for the sixth wicket. Dube remained unbeaten on 48 off 34 balls, but it was not enough to prevent KKR from securing a vital victory.