TEENAGER Shubman Gill clubbed his first Twenty20 half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) moved up to third in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Having put the Super Kings in to bat, Kolkata reduced them to 177-5, with captain MS Dhoni’s 25-ball 43 pushing Chennai to a total they could at least have a chance of defending.
But Gill (57 not out) and captain Dinesh Karthik (45 n.o.) helped Kolkata recover from a shaky start to successfully chase it down with 14 balls to spare.
The Knight Riders are now four points clear of the fifth-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have a game in hand, while the Super Kings have slipped off the top, with Sunrisers Hyderabad taking their place.
Dhoni scored an unbeaten half-century in the Super Kings’ previous game as they defeated Delhi Daredevils, and it was he who ensured this Chennai innings did not peter out.
He came to the crease with Chennai 101-3, and their situation worsened when Ambati Rayudu (21) was bowled by Sunil Narine to leave them on 119-4.
But Dhoni took command from then, smacking three maximums in six balls as Shivam Mavi and Mitchell Johnson got the treatment.
A fourth six came when Gill dropped him at the square-leg boundary, but the 19-year-old would more than atone for that error.
There was no ‘Lynnsanity’ to power the Knight Riders, as opener Chris Lynn (12) fell, caught behind to Lungi Ngidi on review with the final ball of the opening over.
Robin Uthappa (6) and Rinku Singh (16) both failed to inspire a turnaround and, despite the best efforts of Narine (32), Kolkata looked in a very poor position when the latter fell with the score at 97-4.
But Karthik and Gill put on 83 for the fifth wicket to take the game away from Chennai.
Gill needed only 32 balls to reach his half-century, as he hit to extra cover for two but, although he immediately followed that up with a boundary, it was Karthik who finished the job.
Karthik hit three fours off Dwayne Bravo in the 18th over to wrap up the win, fortuitously sending an edge short of point and to the boundary to knock off the clinching runs. (Yahoo Sport)