KKR vs CSK, 21st Match at Abu Dhabi, IPL, Oct 07 2020 - Ball by Ball Commentary

That ends it for the evening. A great tactical match won by KKR to win this match and claim the No 3 spot in the table. Once again, the great depth in their bowling shone through. If they can get some consistency in their batting results, they will be a force to be reckoned with. I am still not sure about that plan to leave Narine for a a situation when it was near impossible to win, but then again who am I to argue against the result on the night?

Thanks for joining us. There is more coming your way tomorrow

Rahul Tripathi, the Man of the Match: "It is a dream come true for me. I was prepared for both the roles. Wherever you get the opportunity, you have to be prepared. I just thought the ball was coming on nicely so I just felt we should keep the runs coming. I have loved this journey. Coming to KKR is special."

Dinesh Karthik: "There are some key players. Sunil Narine is one of us. The least we can do is back him. I am really proud of him as a player. We thought we will ease Sunny's pressure a little bit and send Rahul up. Our batting is very fluid. I started at 3, I am batting at 7. That is the good thing. Over the years fluid line-ups have dine better. The way they batted at the start they did really well, but at the back end I had great faith in Sunny and Varun. That paid off for me."

Andre Russell says this is the kind of day you love being an allrounder. He failed with the bat, but came through with the ball. He says cross-seamers were the dangerous balls, and he stuck with them in the 18th over, the "pressure over for us".

srini: "No, just because they won, we can't ignore the fact that DK used his resources very efficiently. Statistics show that Watson is susceptible to Narine and an early wicket would have made this match a completely different ball game, more in favor of KKR. You can't expect Dhoni to fail so easily without hitting a mighty blow or two OR Russell bowling so exceptionally all the time. Don't forget that the end result is a difference of two boundary hits."

MS Dhoni: "In the middle overs, there was a phase when they bowled two-three good overs. Then we lost wickets. If our batting was different during that period, the result would have been different. Initially we gave away a few too many with the new ball. Karn did really well. The bowlers did well to bring them down to 160, but the batsmen let the bowlers down. There were no boundaries in the end, and you have to be slightly innovative in these scenarios. If someone is bowling just back of a length, you have to find a way to hit boundaries."

KKR reach the third spot with this win. A mix of tactics, innovation and high skill. Holding back spin fr the back end to execute what could be a risky plan needed composure. And they showed composure in the face of CSK's top three getting off to a good start. And then Sunil Narine, C Varun and Andre Russell backed their captain up by executing the plans perfectly with high skill

And when I watch Russell bowl, I wonder if other specialist bowlers in the team feel like I do playing social cricket when I am allowed to bowl my quota and the much superior bowler lets me because he gets to bat too

Innocent Bamuri: "Dinesh Karthik you genius! On behalf of everyone who questioned your bowling changes, I apologize."

This is an amazing turnaround from KKR. They are unpredictable, and while they can be frustrating, they can also be a joy to watch. As they have been today

Karthik taking no chances even with 26 required off the last ball. Russell to complete the job

Jadhav makes everyone wait as he changes his bat. Could have done so in the over break

Narine to bowl out. This has to be CSK's last chance. And it is not a very inviting prospect might I add

vipul: "Poor from Jadhav. he should have at least tried for single"

Russell is feeling his shoulder

In comes Jadeja to keep the left-right going. It is not over yet, folks. They even have Bravo to follow

And, yes, Karthik has gone to Russell now. Thirty-nine off the last three. And we have got to admit, Karthik might have played this perfectly. Also great execution of mystery spin from Narine and Varun. Still job to do. Can Russell hustle Curran?