KKR Walk Away With A Comfortable 6-Wicket Win Over CSK In IPL 2022 Opener

MS Dhoni struck a record fifty to take CSK to a respectable total in the first innings.

Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) began their IPL 2022 season with a comfortable six-wicket win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings(CSK) at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. 

Chasing a modest total of 132, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer gave a good start to the team as they scored 43 runs inside the powerplay without losing any wicket. However, Bravo got Iyer out right after the powerplay for 16. 

Nitish Rana looked good during his 21-run knock off 17 balls before Bravo once again struck in the 10th over. Rahane was also looking comfortable playing shots and smashed 44 in 34 balls with the help of six fours and a six. 

Mitchell Santner got Rahane out in the 12th over to bring in captain Shreyas Iyer to the crease. Iyer along with Sam Billings added another 36 runs to completely push CSK out of the game. Billings scored 25 off 22 before Bravo once again struck but it was too late for Chennai to get back in the game as Iyer finished the game with nine balls to spare. 

Earlier, MS Dhoni struck a record fifty to take CSK to 131/5 in the first inning. 

Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway got out cheaply inside the powerplay against Umesh Yadav's attacking bowling. Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu tried but couldn't hang on to their respective starts. 

CSK was in trouble at the score of 61/5 at the end of the 11th over when Dhoni walked in to join captain Ravindra Jadeja at the crease. The duo added 70 off 56 balls to help CSK reach a competitive total. 

Dhoni started slowly but finished the innings well on an unbeaten 50 off 38 balls with the help of seven fours and a six. Jadeja had a forgettable night with the bat as he remained not out on 26 off 28 balls. 

Brief Scorecard: 

CSK - 131/5 
KKR - 133/4 in 18.3 overs