Faf du Plessis smashed an unbeaten 60-ball 95 as Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in a high-scoring IPL game here on Wednesday.
Sent into bat, du Plessis (95 not out) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (64) knocked the daylight out of KKR bowlers, adding 115 for the opening wicket to lay the foundation.
After Gaikwad was back in the hut, du Plessis continued his rampage, while Mooen Ali (25) and MS Dhoni (17) also came up with useful cameos as CSK posted a big total of 220 for three.
Defending the total, pacer Deepak Chahar (4/29) produced a sensational spell, claiming four wickets, while Lungi Ngidi (3/28) captured one to leave KKR tottering at 31 for 5 in 5.2 overs.
Andrew Russell, however, hit six maximums in a breathtaking 54 off 22 balls and shared 81 runs off 39 balls with Dinesh Karthik (40) to bring KKR back in the hunt.
Once Russell was gone, Pat Cummins (66 not out) kept KKR in the chase but he ran out of partners in the end as they eventually fell short by 18 runs.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings: 220 for 3 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 95; Varun Chakravarthy 1/27).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 202 all out in 19.1 overs (Pat Cummins 66 not out, Andrew Russell 54; Deepak Chahar 4/29).
