In the 61st match of IPL 2023, Chennai Super Kings suffered a six-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders. Batting first in this match, Chennai scored 144 runs losing six wickets. In response, the Kolkata team scored 147 runs losing four wickets in 18.3 overs, and won the match. With this victory, Kolkata has 12 points in 13 matches and this team remains in the playoff race. At the same time, despite the defeat, the Chennai team remains in the second position in the points table. To reach the playoffs, Chennai will have to win their last match or need the support of luck.

Shivam Dubey scored the most unbeaten 48 runs for Chennai in this match. Deepak Chahar took three wickets in bowling. At the same time, Rinku Singh scored 54 and Nitish Rana scored 57 not out for Kolkata. In bowling, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakraborty took two wickets each.

Good start from Chennai
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Chennai Super Kings were given a good start by Rituraj Gaikwad and Devon Conway. Both added 31 runs for the first wicket. Rituraj was dismissed by Chakraborty after scoring 17 runs. After this, Conway along with Rahane took the team's score beyond 50 runs. Chennai scored 52 runs losing one wicket in Powerpel.

Rahane played an inning of 16 runs in 11 balls, but he too could not make a big score. After Rahane, Conway was also dismissed after scoring 30 runs. After this, Sunil Narine dismissed Ambati Rayudu (four runs) and Moeen Ali (one run) in the same over to reduce Chennai's score to 72/5. After this Shivam Dubey and Ravindra Jadeja handled the Chennai innings. Both shared a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket. However, Jadeja played an innings of 20 runs in 24 balls, which was not in the interest of the team.


Dhoni came to bat in the last over, but he could not hit any six in this match. In the end, Chennai scored 144 runs losing six wickets. Shivam Dubey remained unbeaten after scoring 48 runs in 34 balls. Varun Chakraborty and Sunil Narine took two wickets each for Kolkata. Shardul Thakur and Vaibhav Arora got one wicket each.

Kolkata's bad start
Chasing the target of 145 runs, Kolkata got off to a very poor start. Rahmanullah Gurbaj became the victim of Deepak Chahar by scoring one run in the very first over. Chahar also dismissed Venkatesh Iyer for nine runs in his next over. At the same time, Jason Roy was also dismissed after scoring 12 runs in Chahar's third over. Kolkata's three wickets had fallen for 33 runs. After this Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh took over the innings. Both scored quick runs and the Kolkata team managed to score 46 runs in the powerplay.

Record the partnership between Rinku and Nitish
Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana shared a 99-run partnership for the fourth wicket. This is the biggest partnership against Chennai on Chepauk ground. Rinku scored 54 runs in 43 balls with the help of four fours and three sixes. A precise throw from Moeen Ali got him out in the 18th over, but it was too late. Rinku along with Nitish had taken Kolkata's score to 132 runs and his team was standing on the threshold of victory.
In the end, Nitish Rana teamed up with Andre Russell to win Kolkata. He remained unbeaten after scoring 57 runs off 44 balls. Apart from Deepak Chahar, no bowler could take wickets for Chennai. Deepak took three wickets in the powerplay itself. After this, only one wicket of Kolkata fell through run out.

Bad fielding became the reason for the defeat
Mathisha Pathirana of Chennai dropped the catch of Nitish Rana in this match. At this time Rana was playing on 18 runs. His dropping this catch cost the Chennai team dearly. Rana scored a brilliant half-century and returned only after winning his team. At the same time, Dhoni had decided to bat first at the time of the toss, which proved to be wrong. The spin bowlers were not getting any help in the second innings and batting became easier. For this reason, the Kolkata team was able to win the match easily. Kolkata's spin bowlers took four wickets in this match, but Chennai's spin bowlers could not take any wickets.