Brevis cracks counterattacking fifty as KKR's playoffs hopes nosedive

Three players who came into Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) squad as injury replacements during IPL 2025 were part of their XI in their 12th match of the season, and two of the three made decisive contributions to all but end Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) playoffs hopes.

Making his IPL debut, Urvil Patel got off the mark with a six, flicked effortlessly off Vaibhav Arora, and hit three more over the course of an 11-ball 31 that gave CSK vital early momentum in a chase of 180.

That momentum didn't seem to count for much, though, as CSK lost five wickets inside the powerplay. Then, after they had recovered somewhat, to 93 for 5 after ten overs, Dewald Brevis transformed the contest in the space of six balls, hitting Arora for 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4 in a 30-run 11th over to rush to his maiden IPL half-century off just 22 balls.

Before that over, ESPNcricinfo's forecaster had pegged KKR as 78.02% favourites. After that over, CSK were 78.05% favourites.

The contest was in the balance once again when Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Brevis at the start of the 13th over, leaving CSK six down, but the situation - another 53 runs needed off 47 balls - was just right for the pair that now came together. It allowed MS Dhoni to take his time, and Shivam Dube to wait for his moments to show off his six-hitting range.

Dube fell in the penultimate over, but not before he had brought CSK close enough for Dhoni to win it in almost-but-not-quite-vintage style: he hit the first ball of the last over for six, but left the winning hit to No. 10 Anshul Kamboj. But the win was set up by Noor Ahmad's four-wicket burst after the powerplay. He got Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi within the space of three balls in the eighth over, before dismissing a dangerous-looking Andre Russell and Rinku Singh in the death overs.

Before this game, CSK had gone on a run of 12 successive defeats in chases of 180-plus targets. They had now finally ended a streak that stretched back to 2020.

That one Arora over to Brevis overturned what had till then been the perfect game for KKR on one of the most spin-friendly pitches of IPL 2025. KKR had batted first, maximised the powerplay, and found just enough muscle at the finish to make up for the slowdown against spin that the conditions almost mandated. Having set CSK a challenging target, they had taken out half their side in the powerplay. They had done almost everything they had needed to do.

KKR are still not out of contention for the playoffs, with a fourth-place finish still mathematically possible if they can get to 15 points. That will require winning their last two matches, however, and a combination of other finishes going their way.

The 11th over of CSK's innings wasn't the best Arora has bowled. He tried to attack Brevis' blockhole, but kept missing, serving up either half volleys or full tosses. It takes a special talent to put every error away, and Brevis is certainly a special talent, particularly gifted at hitting down the ground. The most remarkable of his shots came off a knuckleball full toss that he met well in front of his body, with his bottom hand off the handle, sending it flying 89m over long-on.

All the carnage may not have happened at all had Raghuvanshi timed his jump a little better at long-off off the first ball of the over; Brevis hit it flat in his direction, and the overhead chance slipped between his hands and over the boundary.

Choosing to bat first, KKR probably knew they had to make the most of the powerplay, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz set the tone before becoming the first batter dismissed for 11 off nine balls. He hit a four and a six, swung hard and missed on numerous occasions, and then chipped one straight to midwicket.

Narine and Ajinkya Rahane continued in that spirit, and took KKR to 67 for 1 at the six-over mark, hitting eight fours and two sixes between them during the powerplay. Neither looked in full control - Rahane survived a chance when a diving Matheesha Pathirana put him down at long leg - but both went hard at the bowling in this period. Narine, coming into this game having scored 118 off 48 balls against R Ashwin while only being dismissed once, took 14 runs off the offspinner in the fifth over.

Ayush Mhatre, the other injury replacement in CSK's line-up, fell for a duck off the second ball of the chase. That brought Urvil to the crease, and immediate life to CSK's innings.

Urvil had already hit one six when KKR gave Moeen the ball for the second over, presumably with the offspinner's match-up against the left-handed Devon Conway in mind. But Moeen had to bowl to Urvil first, and that contest brought two leg-side sixes in three balls before Urvil took a single. Moeen bowled Conway immediately with a non-turning offbreak that slid between bat and pad.

Urvil hit one more six, a flat-bat monster over wide long-on, before Harshit Rana dismissed him, getting him to edge another attempted big hit to short third. That pattern of CSK's powerplay continued. Ashwin, promoted to No. 4, and Ravindra Jadeja, hit early boundaries too, but fell off their seventh and tenth balls, respectively. At the six-over mark, CSK were 62 for 5.

Brevis and Dube had steered them to the ten-over mark without further damage, but they had taken 34 balls to add 33 runs by that point, having exclusively faced Narine and Varun. Who knew what would come next?

When Brevis fell in the 13th over, mis-hitting Varun to long-on, the match was far from over. Varun had five balls left to bowl, Narine had six, and Dhoni, before this game, had scored 60 off 111 balls, with six dismissals, of the two mystery spinners in T20s.

But he could afford to take his time, and Dube could ration his risk-taking. He hit just three sixes, but all three were clinical: two straight hits off slower balls from Rana that landed in the slot, and a massive strike over the on side when Arora, having bowled a near-wide and a wide while attempting wide yorkers, straightened his line a touch too far in the 19th over.

That brought the equation down to 10 off nine balls, and CSK were favourites, but Dube fell next ball, miscuing another big hit. When Noor holed out off the last ball of the 19th, CSK were left needing eight runs off the last over.

With Dhoni on strike, though, Russell missed his length, sending down a full toss that disappeared over the midwicket boundary. Russell found the blockhole off the next two balls, and Dhoni, hitting both along the ground towards long-off, refused one single before taking the other to level the scores with three balls left.

Kamboj only needed one ball, chipping over mid-on to put a wildly seesawing game to rest.