New Delhi, India

The two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by seven wickets in match 22 of the IPL 2024 edition on Monday (April 8). The KKR unit came into this game on the back of three wins on the trot, however, Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai rode on Tushar Deshpnade (3 for 33), Mustafizur Rahman (2 for 22) and Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 18) to restrict Shreyas Iyer & Co. for a below-par 137 for 9 before the Yellow Army chased it down by seven wickets, in 17.4 overs. After the game, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy opined on the reason for the loss.

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At the post-match conference, Chakravarthy said, "We could have assessed the pitch better because it was staying low. It was tough to connect the shots, but I felt 160 would have been a par score.".

Also read: IPL 2024: 'They know conditions...,' KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer concedes misreading pitch after loss vs CSK

He further opined, "When I saw the pitch, I felt it was flat, but the way the track behaved was totally different. That can happen on any ground. 160-170 would have been a fighting total." Chakravarthy added, "There was a lot of dew in the second innings and bowling to Dube was tough. The seam was very wet, and I could not grip the ball much."

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KKR were asked to bat first but nothing clicked for them from the word go. They lost Phillip Salt on the very first ball of the contest and only managed 137 for 9 thanks to captain Iyer's 34 and Sunil Narine's 27. In reply, the defending champions, and five-time winners, Chennai rode on their captain Gaikwad's cautious 58-bal 67* and cameos from Daryl Mitchell (19-ball 25) and Shivam Dube (18-ball 28) to chase down the score with 14 balls to spare.

KKR will now host the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday (April 14) whereas CSK will lock horns with arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) on the same day, i.e. the evening game, at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.