IPL 2025: Sunil Narine's 3-13 Performance Leads KKR to Restrict CSK to 103/9

Synopsis

On April 11, Sunil Narine's superb spell of 3-13 enabled Kolkata Knight Riders to restrict Chennai Super Kings to a meager 103/9 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, marking a dismal outing for CSK. Despite Shivam Dube's efforts, KKR's disciplined bowlers dominated the match.

Key Takeaways

Sunil Narine achieved remarkable figures of 3-13.
Chennai Super Kings scored their lowest total at home.
Shivam Dube top-scored for CSK with 31 runs.
KKR's bowlers collectively took six wickets.
CSK struggled against disciplined bowling throughout the match.

Chennai, April 11 (NationPress) Sunil Narine delivered an exceptional performance, not allowing a single boundary in his economical spell of 3-13. The Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers executed a masterful display, limiting a lackluster Chennai Super Kings to a mere 103/9, marking their lowest score at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.

From the outset, the black-soil pitch favored spin bowling, with Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Moeen Ali collectively taking six wickets, preventing CSK from establishing any momentum in their batting.

After losing the toss, CSK opted to bat first but failed to capitalize on their decision, struggling against the tight bowling from KKR. It was only Shivam Dube's unbeaten 31 runs off 29 balls that spared CSK from being bowled out for their record low of 79 in IPL history.

Devon Conway started strong with two boundaries off pacer Vaibhav Arora but fell for 12, trapped lbw by Moeen while attempting a reverse sweep in a wicket-maiden over. In the following over, CSK faced another setback as Rachin Ravindra was caught at cover after miscuing a slog off Harshit Rana.

KKR nearly claimed another wicket when Vijay Shankar was dropped by Moeen at mid-off while on naught. Shankar went on to hit boundaries off Chakaravarthy and lofted Moeen for a six. His luck continued when Venkatesh Iyer dropped him at mid-wicket when he was on 20.

Despite some fortunate moments, CSK's struggles escalated. Shankar's innings ended at 29, mistiming a sweep off Chakaravarthy, while Tripathi was bowled for 16 by an off-break from Moeen.

Ravichandran Ashwin's promotion backfired as he was caught out off Harshit Rana, and Ravindra Jadeja fell for a duck off Narine. Impact Player Deepak Hooda also failed to deliver, chipping to short mid-wicket off Chakaravarthy. CSK's hopes for a significant score ended when MS Dhoni was trapped lbw for just one run by Narine.

Dube, witnessing CSK's collapse, finally broke the 63-ball boundary drought by hitting Rana for a four, followed by a top edge off Arora for another boundary. However, he injured his left leg while running and still managed to hit a half-volley for a boundary on the final ball, helping CSK surpass 100 runs.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 103/9 in 20 overs (Shivam Dube 31 not out, Vijay Shankar 29; Sunil Narine 3-13, Harshit Rana 2-16) against Kolkata Knight Riders