Ruturaj Gaikwad hammered his second consecutive half-century to guide Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a six-wicket triumph over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 49 of the ongoing 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 173 runs to win, the Chennai franchise lost opener Shane Watson cheaply for 14 runs off Varun Chakravarthy delivery.
Watson's opener Gaikwad then not only smashed a fifty off 37 deliveries but also stitched crucial stand of 68 runs with Ambati Rayudu (38) for the second wicket to help CSK cross the 100-run mark.
Gaikwad finished his innings at 53-ball 72 runs, which was decorated with six boundaries and two maximums.
Ravindra Jadeja (31) and Sam Curran (13) then stitched an unbeaten partnership of 38 runs for the fifth wicket to help CSK cross the mark with five balls to spare.
Pat Cummins and Varun Chakravarthy bagged two wickets each for the Knight Riders.
Earlier, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill (26) provided a good start to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by sharing a 53-run stand for the opening wicket.
After Gill was dismissed off Karn Sharma's delivery, Rana first brought up a fifty off 44 deliveries before notching up a crucial knock of 87 runs off 61 balls to help KKR post a decent score of 172 for five in their stipulated 20 overs.
While Sunil Narine (7), Rinku Singh (11) and skipper Eoin Morgan (15) all fell cheaply, Dinesh Karthik (21) and Ravi Tripathi (three) remained unbeaten at the crease.
For CSK, Lungi Ngidi claimed two wickets, while Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma chipped in with a wicket each.
Gaikwad was declared 'Man of the Match' for his impressive show with the bat.
Despite the victory, CSK continue to stand at the bottom of the table with five victories from 13 matches. KKR, on the other hand, are at the fifth spot with six wins in hand.
KKR's defeat also confirms that league leaders Mumbai Indians have now become th first team to qualify for the playoffs of the 2020 IPL.The Mumbai franchise is standing at the top of the table with eight wins from 12 games.
Brief scores: KKR 172/5 wkts in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 87, Shubman Gill 26; Lungi Ngidi 2/34) lost to CSK 178/4 wkts in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 72, Ambati Rayudu 38; Varun Chakravarthy 2/20) by 6 wkts
