Dewald Brevis smashed a blistering 22-ball fifty to help Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by two wickets in a thrilling IPL 2025 clash at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
After Noor Ahmad’s impressive 4-31 restricted KKR to 179/6, the five-time champions were in trouble at 60/5. Brevis stepped up with a counter-attacking 52 off 25 balls, laced with four fours and four sixes, guiding CSK to chase down 180 with two balls to spare. He was ably supported by Shivam Dube, who scored a steady 45 off 40 deliveries, as CSK dealt a major blow to KKR’s playoff hopes.
In pursuit of 180, CSK had a disastrous start. Ayush Mhatre fell for a duck, slapping Vaibhav Arora straight to point. Debutant Urvil Patel made a strong impression by flicking Arora for six before smashing Moeen Ali for two sixes and a four. However, Moeen bounced back by bowling Devon Conway through the gate, making it two ducks for CSK’s openers.
Patel continued his attacking intent by hitting Harshit Rana for six but perished soon after, edging a lofted shot to short third man to end a brisk 11-ball 31. Ravichandran Ashwin’s promotion to number three failed, as he sliced a delivery to backward point off Rana. Varun Chakaravarthy then bowled Ravindra Jadeja with a googly, leaving CSK at 62/5 at the end of the powerplay.
Brevis and Dube looked to rebuild but were kept in check by Sunil Narine and Chakaravarthy. With 87 runs needed off the last 10 overs, Brevis launched a stunning counterattack, smashing Arora for three sixes and two fours to bring up his half-century off just 22 balls, as CSK plundered 30 runs from the 11th over.
However, Brevis’ brilliant knock ended when he holed out to long-on off Chakaravarthy for 52. Dube then took over, lofting Harshit Rana for two sixes and pulling Andre Russell for a boundary.
Arora reintroduced drama by dismissing Dube (caught at long-off) and Noor Ahmad (caught at long-on), leaving CSK needing eight off the final over. MS Dhoni calmly smashed Russell for six, and Anshul Kamboj sealed the win by lofting over mid-off for the winning boundary, giving CSK a tense two-wicket victory.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 179/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 48, Andre Russell 38; Noor Ahmad 4-31, Ravindra Jadeja 1-34)
lost to
Chennai Super Kings 183/8 in 19.4 overs (Dewald Brevis 52, Shivam Dube 45; Vaibhav Arora 3-48, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-18)
by 2 wickets
— IANS
