CSK vs KKR | Player Ratings - Andre Russell fifty not enough as Chennai Super Kings go to top after beating Kolkata Knight Riders

CSK vs KKR | Player Ratings - Andre Russell fifty not enough as Chennai Super Kings go to top after beating Kolkata Knight Riders

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BCCI

After mindless slogging broke Kolkata Knight Riders’ spine early in the innings, there was no way they could make a comeback in the game against Chennai Super Kings. Even though Andre Russell scored a steady fifty, it was not a typical Russell innings as he took as many as 44 balls for the same.

Chris Lynn (2/10): When a player is touted to be good against pace bowlers, it is generally perceived that the player has a better feet movement. Chris Lynn doesn’t have that for sure, as he mostly relies on his hand-eye coordination and hitting across the line. The slowness of the surface got to him and the inducker from Deepak Chahar caught him plumb in front for a duck. 

Sunil Narine (6/10): Even though Chris Lynn - not a good player of spin bowling - was dismissed in the first over itself, Dhoni brought in Harbhajan Singh to bowl the second over against Sunil Narine. Slogging was not easy on a surface like the one at Chepauk and Narine used his feet early to make room but Harbhajan dragged the length back with no pace to force the former to miscue the shot. Kind of intelligent stuff from the CSK spinner, but Narine would get a lesson on the perils of mindless slogging. The Caribbean found the redemption with the ball though, picking up a couple of wickets to give the hosts some early jitters.

Robin Uthappa (1.5/10): Uthappa’s dismissal was as outrageous as it could get. One of the most, if not the most, experienced players in the side, Uthappa knew that there was a deep mid-wicket in place. And with Chahar bowling mostly in early 130s, a pull shot to clear the boundary was never an option. In the end, it was an easy catch for Kedar Jadhav. 

Nitish Rana (1/10): When Rana came to the crease, the team had already lost a couple of wickets and needed someone to hang in there with Robin Uthappa. Rana was nowhere close to what could have been considered as a safe approach in T20 and perished to a low-bounce delivery from Chahar. The sheer carelessness towards constructing the innings is the last thing the team wanted that time.

Dinesh Karthik (3/10): That DK can’t bat for long is never a secret, but he should know that part of being the captain is also about taking responsibility and setting an example. However, he threw away his wicket after being set on the crease and there was no real intention of taking the team out of the precarious situation they were subjected to. 

Shubman Gill (2.5/10): It may sound repetitive for you, but this was Kolkata Knight Riders’ story in the night so far. There was no real application by Gill and even though it is harsh to roast a young cricketer when the seniors didn’t do well, he is an India international now. The stage has never cared for the age, and Gill should understand that.

Andre Russell (7/10): When everyone else around him was falling like a house of cards, Russell knew that he was the only person left to guide the team to a good total. But the ball was not coming out to bat nicely, and Russell fell prey to the waiting game. Even though he scored a fifty, it was more like Dhoni, and not at all like “Russell Muscle”. 

Piyush Chawla (8/10): Being in the heavier side, Chawla has often been at the receiving end of online trolls for his fielding standard, but boy, did the man just silence everyone tonight. The way he ran backward and eventually snapped up Suresh Raina’s catch would go on this match’s highlights reel for sure. His bowling was not bad either, and with dew reducing his repotiere, he still picked up a wicket while giving away runs at less than eight an over. 

Kuldeep Yadav (8/10): Excellent use of variations and the attack line was so good that Kuldeep might go back and watch his bowling over and over again. Shame that Faf du Plessis didn’t want to risk his wicket against him, but Kuldeep wouldn’t mind that for sure.

Harry Gurney (3/10): The English slower ball specialist had a perfect measure of his performance in the last game, but Karthik didn’t trust him for more than a couple of overs. The KKR skipper had a reason too because Gurney was nowhere close to landing the ball in the fuller lengths and Faf had sufficient time to guide him through extra cover and behind the square.

Prasidh Krishna(8/10): Krishna is turning out to be a solid player for Kolkata Knight Riders, and calling him the pace spearhead won’t be too far-fetched a statement. Even though there was no support for him on a treacherous surface, the Karnataka bowler targeted the leg-stump and instead of bowling on that line, he backed himself to angle the ball in. This maturity is helping him big-time.

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