Chennai, April 14 (NationPress) A dominant showing by the bowlers, spearheaded by Noor Ahmad and Anshul Kamboj, paired with a solid batting effort, enabled the Chennai Super Kings to secure a convincing 32-run victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2026 encounter held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

While defending a challenging score of 192/5, CSK made early inroads and maintained their dominance throughout the match, limiting KKR to 160/7 in their full quota of 20 overs, despite late resistance from Ramandeep Singh and Rovman Powell.

KKR’s innings got off to an unconventional start, with Sunil Narine partnering with Finn Allen at the top. Narine showed aggressive intent with a couple of sixes early on, but Allen was dismissed cheaply by Kamboj in the second over, giving CSK an important early advantage.

Narine was unable to capitalize on his start, falling to Khaleel Ahmed during the powerplay, which left KKR in a precarious position at 36/2 after six overs—their lowest powerplay score since 2024. Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi tried to stabilize the innings, briefly increasing the run rate with a combination of boundaries and sixes.

However, CSK’s spin attack significantly shifted the momentum during the middle overs. Akeal Hosein broke the partnership by dismissing Raghuvanshi, followed by a pivotal spell from Noor. The Afghan left-arm wrist-spinner took the wickets of Rahane, Cameron Green for a golden duck, and Rinku Singh, leaving KKR in dire straits at 91/6.

Noor concluded the match with remarkable figures of 3/21, consistently perplexing batters with his variations and making the most of the Chepauk pitch. His performance turned KKR's recovery hopes into a struggle.

As the required run rate escalated, Ramandeep (35 runs off 23 balls) and Powell (31 not out off 22 balls) put together a resilient partnership, keeping KKR's chances alive with sporadic boundaries. Nevertheless, CSK's disciplined bowling ensured the target remained unattainable.

Kamboj returned in the final overs to conclude the match, achieving figures of 2/32. He dismissed Ramandeep in the penultimate over and restricted runs to just 12 in the last over, sealing the game for CSK.

Earlier, CSK set a formidable target of 192/5 after opting to bat first. Sanju Samson led the scoring with a brisk 48, while young Ayush Mhatre provided a lightning start with a quickfire 17-ball 38. Dewald Brevis contributed significantly in the middle overs with a well-crafted 41, aiding CSK in bouncing back after a brief slowdown.

Despite commendable efforts from KKR’s bowlers, especially Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy, who tried to stem the flow of runs during the middle overs, CSK's aggressive start ultimately proved to be the turning point.

This victory marks CSK’s second consecutive win, while KKR continues to grapple with inconsistency in their batting line-up, remaining without a win.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 192/5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 48, Dewald Brevis 41, Ayush Mhatre 38; Kartik Tyagi 2/35) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 160/7 in 20 overs (Ramandeep Singh 35, Rovman Powell 31*; Noor Ahmad 3/21, Anshul Kamboj 2/32) by 32 runs.