start the tuk-tuk, we are outta here! The flourish of a man confident in his abilities, and the chase monkey is off CSK's back! It took years and years and years, and felt like an eternity, especially in an incredibly underwhelming season, but now, with MS Dhoni at the crease and with immense contributions from Dube and Brevis, they have chased down a score of 180 or above, and no, this is not a drill! This has really happened in the flesh, and it gives CSK and their fans something to smile about! Right in the slot outside off. Kamboj plants his front foot and with a short-arm jab that is senior partner at the other end would be proud of, pummels it over mid on. Smiles in the CSK camp, but the disappointment on KKR faces is discernible. Their qualification hopes now hang by the barest of threads, and they will now need something truly miraculous to get to the final four to defend the crown they won last year!
KKR vs CSK, 57th Match at Kolkata, IPL, May 07 2025 - Match Result
CSK won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
11:38pm And that will be all from us for tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and we will be back tomorrow as the Punjab Kings clash with the Delhi Capitals in another crunch playoff-race contest. Until then, from Ranjith, Sudeep and myself (Shashwat), goodbye and take care!
Noor Ahmad, Player of the Match: It was a superb win, really happy with the work we did as a team. Happy with my bowling and well done to Dewald Brevis, and the way we finished at the end, it was great. I focus to get the purple cap, but just wanted to deliver and contribute for my team - that is how it works for me. The nick from Raghuvanshi (was my favourite wicket tonight). I just try to use the length well and that is what works for me now.
MS Dhoni, CSK captain: (On the emotions after winning a few games) Few? This is just the third game we have won (laughs). There were a few things that did not go our way. You could get emotional about it, talk about the pride factor but you have to be practical about it. just concentrating about where the 25 players could fit. Want to be competitive but you also want answers - which batter can fit where, which bowler can bowl where, according to the conditions and all. When we started, hardly anyone was scoring. Good to see the batters have intent, important to back yourself and play the shots that you think are your shots. These are the players that are part of our squad right now, so we have an opportunity test them. We are out of the tournament, so you give them a chance, see how they react. It is the approach, the mental toughness that you want to check. The most technically-correct batter does not always score the runs, if you have good awareness…there is a chance to be consistent. Thanks to Brevis, he gave us that luxury (to take it deep). Did not want to give wickets to Sunil and Varun. It was holding for the spinners, but for the pacers, it was not that great and difficult for them to get away. Not to forget that I was the last batter, the tension becomes a lot (if I get out), so rotating strike (gets tougher). He (Dube) got two or three sixes and that brings the run-rate down. (On the crowd support) That is the love and affection I have gotten throughout. Not to forget I am 42 - I have played a long time. A lot of them don't know when it is going to be my last time (smiles), so they want to come and see me play. There is no escaping the fact (that I am in the last phase of my career). After this IPL gets over, I have to work hard for another 6-8 months to see if my body can take this pressure. Nothing to decide now but the love and affection I have seen is excellent.
Ajinkya Rahane, KKR captain: It was a really tough (pill to swallow and lose). We were 10-15 short, 185-195 would have been an ideal total (on this pitch). Bowlers bowled really well, but tough to be on the losing side. (On if the 30-run over was the difference) Absolutely. In this format, it is bound to happen. One over here and there can change the momentum. They (Brevis and Dube) took their chances and it paid off. All about being brave and they were really brave. No complaints at all, the bowlers tried their best. (On how they approach the next few games) Pretty simple. Try to win two out of two, and then see what happens from there.
Dewald Brevis: Forever grateful. Want to thank God for giving me the talent to do this. It was an interesting innings, a few wickets fell quickly. The conditions, if you look at it, you have to sum it up as quickly as you can and then go at it. (On how he is trying to be consistent) Just to keep enjoying it, to play how I am playing and staying true to myself. I know for a fact that I am going to do this through the longer innings as well, so just be myself. (On the IPL experience) It has been incredible. The fans are incredible. It is great cricket, lots of fun, a really high level. (On coming into the middle of a season) It made me very hungry for this. If I look back to a few weeks, I was sitting on the couch watching games and wanted to be there. Trusted in the process and God's plan, just wanted to contribute and have fun.
11:14pm A tense, tense finish. At one stage, it felt CSK would not last this deep, especially when their batters threw their bats around in the powerplay, scored boundaries but also lost plenty of wickets. Then, for a while, it felt that CSK would not need to take this game this deep, with Brevis tearing apart the KKR bowling attack and Arora in particular. But like all classic cricket contests, there was a twist when Brevis fell trying to further up the ante. And that left Dube and Dhoni as protagonists.
Dhoni took his time (of course he did), and he ensured he was there to face the final over. Dube, during that phase, did incredibly well to pop a few over the fence and keep the required run-rate well within reach. He could not close it out, but his captain could. Prior to that entire sequence, two youngsters stood out for their stroke-making: Urvil on debut, and Brevis, whose onslaught lasted longer and in the end, was perhaps the point of difference.
KKR, on the other hand, will feel they missed an opportunity. They had CSK five down inside the powerplay but lost the plot through the middle overs, despite having an attack capable of maximizing these conditions. They now have to rely on a whole lot of other results, while also being in even more must-win territory, with a lot needing to align for a playoff berth.
into the blockhole on middle and leg, and Dhoni squeezes this out towards extra cover. He thinks he can smuggle two and sets off but the fielding from Rahane is sharp. Dhoni has to settle for a single, and Kamboj is on strike, with the scores level!
Will that decision come back to haunt Dhoni and CSK?
full outside off. Dhoni plants his front foot and drills it down the ground to long off. And he does not take the single. Oh my, oh my!
2 off 5. Surely CSK will not mess this up from here?
MSD magic at the Eden G, and it is a racket out there all of a sudden! Russell misses the yorker and bowls a low full toss on the stumps, and MS Dhoni will have that for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Gets his front foot out of the way and biffs it over deep mid wicket!
Right. Here we go again. Dhoni on strike for the start of the final over of a game. 8 needed off 6. Russell to bowl, and he can pull rabbits out of hats. Dhoni has the experience, but he also has 10 off 15 tonight
holes out to long on, and KKR have another wicket in the penultimate over! Dug into the track outside off. Noor has a swipe across the line but the ball gets just a little big on him. Cloths it flat towards long on, where Rinku judges the catch to perfection and then lunges forward to complete it. KKR are still alive, and it will now all go down to the final over!
8 off 7 now. Surely this is a free hit for Noor, and a brief to play in even numbers?
very full on leg stump. Noor tucks it off his pads towards deep backward square leg and hurtles back for two, getting there with a dive. Not the most glamorous dive ever in cricket, but that will do for now!
10 off 8. Noor is the new batter in, and Dhoni has a chat to him straightaway. Dhoni will ideally want to be on strike for the last over. Does that mean Noor has two balls to swing for the hills? Or do they try and take two singles to leave themselves eight for the final over? KKR, of course, will want another wicket here to further tighten the screw
goes a mile up, and Dube does not find the distance this time! Caught superbly by Rinku and this game threatens to turn again! Another slot ball outside off and Dube cannot resist the temptation to have a pop at it, especially with mid off up. Swings his blade like an axe but cuts across the ball too much. A tame slice and Rinku back-pedals from mid off to snare the chance. Big, big moment in the game, and Dube falls for 45, having gotten CSK so close to the finish line!
Dube goes big, and the CSK fans are back to shouting their lungs out! In the arc outside off and as they say, when it is in the arc, it is out of the park. Dube loads himself up, uses his long levers and wallops it over wide long on!
much fuller but similarly wide outside off. Dube throws his hands at it and misses, and the umpire again calls it a wide. And guess what, KKR review for the second ball running. Dube has moved across a little this time, so there will be a revised guideline, but the ball is beyond the revised one too. Wide call stays!
back of a length delivery hung up wide outside off. Dube lets it go and the umpire calls ti a wide. Arora and Gurbaz think it should not be a wide, and Rahane reviews soon after. Not sure if Dube moved across to the off side. Replays suggest Dube was in his original stance, and this is really touch-and-go. A bit of the ball might be just inside the tramlines, and the call has been reversed. Oh my!
Around the wicket to Dube
off-pace and into the track outside off. Dhoni stays leg side of the ball and cuts it towards deep point
18 off 12 now. A bit of pressure maybe creeping on to CSK. Arora will bowl the 19th, with Russell likely bowling the 20th. CSK need a boundary soon to ensure they do not feel a further pinch. Dhoni on strike
low full toss on middle and leg. Dube gets his front foot out of the way and heaves it towards mid wicket. A dot to finish the over!
18 off 13. A dot (or a wicket) here might make things a little more interesting
low full toss on middle and off. Dhoni drives it down the ground to long off and is happy with a single
low full toss on middle and off. Dube tugs it down the ground towards long on
low full toss just outside off. Dube gives himself a bit of room and cracks it straight to extra cover. He will feel he missed out there
low full toss just outside off. Dhoni bends his back knee and drills it back past the bowler towards long on
into the blockhole on middle stump. Dube jams down on it and squeezes it past extra cover
22 off 18, and this is now CSK's game to lose. Russell to bowl the 18th
zipped in full on off and this tails back in a touch. Dhoni has a stab at it and chunks it off the inside edge into his front pad
low full toss on middle and leg. Dube rolls his wrists over it and works it towards deep mid wicket
clean as a whistle, and Dube lands another body blow to KKR's playoff hopes! Off-pace and in the slot, and like Rana's last over, Dube reads it very, very early. Free swing through the line and he hoists it high and handsome over long on!
Over the wicket to Dube
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| Eden Gardens, Kolkata | |
| Toss | Kolkata Knight Riders, elected to bat first |
| Series | |
| Season | 2025 |
| Player Of The Match | |
| Hours of play (local time) | 19.30 start, First Session 19.30-21.00, Interval 21.00-21.20, Second Session 21.20-22.50 |
| Match days | 07 May 2025 - night (20-over match) |
| KKR Player Replacement | Impact player: in, out (1st innings, 19.6 ov) |
| CSK Player Replacement | Impact player: in, out (2nd innings, 5.2 ov) |
| Umpires | |
| TV Umpire | |
| Reserve Umpire | |
| Match Referee | |
| Points | Chennai Super Kings 2, Kolkata Knight Riders 0 |
Over 20 • CSK 183/8
CSK won by 2 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)Powered by Smart Stats