KKR Beat CSK by 6 Wickets in Opening Contest

Mumbai: Shreyas Iyer and Sheldon Jackson guided Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first victory in IPL 2022 with win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening contest in Mumbai.

Former CSK captain MS Dhoni’s blazing innings of 50 runs went in vain thanks to good batting from Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer, who helped KKR pull off the chase in 18.3 overs with six wickets remaining to collect their first points.  KKR, who lost to CSK in the last season summit clash, chased down the 132-run target with nine balls to spare, with out of favour India batter Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with a 34-ball 44.

Rahane, who was bought for Rs 1 crore by KKR after playing very few matches for Delhi Capitals last season, was in good touch as he hit six fours and one six during his knock. He shared 43 runs for the opening wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (16) and that was the highest partnership for KKR in the end.

Nitish Rana (21), new captain Shreyas Iyer (20 not out) and Sam Billings (25) made useful contributions to give KKR a winning start to the tournament. Iyer thus started his KKR captaincy with a win while his counterpart Ravindra Jadeja, who took the place of the iconic Dhoni as CSK skipper, began his stint with a loss.