No end to CSK’s woes: Super Kings slumps to fifth consecutive loss in Dhoni’s comeback match as captain

CHENNAI: Defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders made short work of Chennai Super Kings’ substandard total of 103 for nine by romping to victory in 10.1 overs with eight wickets remaining. The humiliating defeat, coming as it did in MS Dhoni’s comeback match as skipper, was CSK’s fifth on the trot and leaves it ninth on the table with two points in six matches.

The recurring theme of Chennai Super Kings’ batting collapses has gone from bad to worse as it only posted a score of 103 for nine to hand Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) the initiative at MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday.

This was the lowest total for CSK at home in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. It was also the second lowest total by any team at Chepauk after RCB’s 70 all-out against CSK in 2019.

The match-up was between two teams that were in desperate need of a reboot. Super Kings made two changes with Anshul Kamboj replacing Mukesh Chaudhary and Rahul Tripathi coming in for skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Put into bat for the first time this season, CSK’s struggles began early.

The average opening stand this season for CSK leading into this game was 18.8. And this time it got worse as it lost opener Devon Conway (12 off 11, 2x4) in the fourth over when it put only 16 runs on board. He tried to go for a reverse sweep against Moeen Ali, but missed and got trapped lbw.

Harshit Rana came into the attack in the fifth over and within no time removed Rachin Ravindra with a back of a length delivery that angled across the Kiwi.

Meanwhile, the KKR spinners were right on the money and skipper Ajinkya Rahane rotated the bowlers with aplomb.

Six wickets perished to spin in this innings which was yet another dubious record for CSK in IPL, with KKR tweakers conceding just 55 runs in the combined spell of 12 overs.

From 50/2 in the eighth over, CSK crumbled to 78/8 by the 17th, barely limping past its lowest score. KKR’s bowlers, especially Narine (3/13) and Chakravarthy (2/22), spun a web of destruction that left CSK in tatters.

Brief scores: CSK 103/9 in 20 overs (Shivam Dube 31, Sunil Narine 3/13) lost to KKR 107/2 in 10.1 overs (S Narine 44)