Jadeja magic takes CSK back to first spot with last-ball win over KKR

Faf du Plessis drives through the covers.

Needing 34 from 21 balls with seven wickets in hand, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) looked like they may have thrown away a simple chase as Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni all fell within the space of six balls. But Super Kings still had one more ace up their sleeve in Ravindra Jadeja, who crushed Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) victory hopes in the space of a devastating four-ball sequence in the 19th over as Super Kings eventually got over the line on the final ball in a dramatic two-wicket win on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi.

With the equation down to 24 from ten balls, Jadeja left Prasidh Krishna shellshocked after clocking a pair of sixes over the leg side followed by two fours over point to swing the pendulum Super Kings’ way.

With four required from the final over, Sunil Narine stretched the match to the limit with a valiant effort, dismissing Sam Curran at the start of the over and Jadeja off the penultimate ball before Deepak Chahar ended the teasing thought of a Super Over with a single over midwicket to clinch victory and put Super Kings back on top of the IPL table with 16 points, ahead of Delhi Capitals on net run rate.

Chief scores

Kolkata Knight Riders: 171/6 in 20 overs (Rahul Tripathi 45, Nitish Rana 37, Josh Hazlewood 2/40, Shardul Thakur 2/20)

Chennai Super Kings: 172/8 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 40, Faf du Plessis 43, Ravindra Jadeja 22, Sunil Narine 3/41)

(Cricinfo)