The first match of the Champions League T20 completely lived up to the expectations as the Kolkata Knights Riders registered a come from behind victory over Chennai Super Kings.
Super Kings were in cruise control of the match until Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate joined forces and brought their team home. Russell, in particular, was instrumental in increasing the ante and outing KKR well on course of a stunning victory.
The Knight Riders were rocked early by pacer Ashish Nehra, who ripped through the top order by dismissing Manvinder Bisla (2), skipper Gautam Gambhir (6) and Manish Pandey (0). Nehra also dismissed Russell towards the end but till then the KKR was touching distance away from a win.
When Russell (51) arrived at the crease, the Knight Riders were reeling at 51 for five but the West Indies’ all-rounder launched a counterattack to put the former champions on the backfoot.
Russell and Doeschate (58 not out) stitched a 80-run partnership for the sixth wicket and rebuilt the innings. They took the match out of Chennai Super Kings’ grasp and helped their team clinch all three points from the rubber, with six balls to spare.
Earlier, put into bat the Super Kings were off to a flying start as opener Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith thrashed the bowlers all over the park. KKR, however, made a good comeback and restricted the opponents by picking wickets on regular intervals.
However, cameos from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (35 not out) and Dwayne Bravo (28 not out) helped CSK reach a competitive total, which proved insufficient towards the end.
