CHENNAI: Ravindra Jadeja returned bowling figures of 3-18 as holders Chennai Super Kings handed Kolkata Knight Riders their first loss of this Indian Premier League season with a seven-wicket hammering on Monday.
Jadeja’s disciplined left-arm spin led Chennai’s bowling charge to restrict Kolkata to 137-9, a total the home team overhauled with 14 balls to spare at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Two-time winners Kolkata suffered defeat after three straight victories.
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led the chase with an unbeaten 67 and a 70-run second-wicket partnership with Daryl Mitchell, who made 25, to make Chennai bounce back from two losses.
“Jaddu (Jadeja) always comes in after the power play with momentum in the spin department,” Gaikwad said of his man of the match performer.
“With this team, I don’t really need to tell things to anyone. Everyone’s in a great head space, Mahi (M.S. Dhoni) bhai and (Stephen) Fleming are still around to take those calls,” Gaikwad added.
Gaikwad, who was handed the captaincy by veteran Dhoni ahead of the season, hammered nine boundaries including the winning hit to make it three in three at home this season.
Shivam Dube hit 28 off 18 balls before departing with Chennai needing three for victory and the crowd erupted at the sight of Dhoni, who led the team to five IPL titles, walking out to bat.
The 42-year-old, who is likely playing his last season as player, made one off three balls amid loud cheers from the fans dressed in the Chennai’s yellow.
Kolkata had a horror start to their innings after they lost England’s Phil Salt on the first ball off fast bowler Tushar Dehspande.
Jadeja remained the hero as he struck on the first ball of his opening over and sent back the in-form Sunil Narine (27) four balls later to put Kolkata in trouble at 60-3 inside seven overs.
Wickets kept tumbling as Jadeja, who reached 100 catches in the IPL, took one more and fellow spinner Maheesh Theekshana reduced the opposition to 85-5 in 11.5 overs.
The innings never took off with skipper Shreyas Iyer adding some respect with his 34 in 32 balls.
“W have to go back to our drawing board and learn, just a matter of one match and one innings, glad it happened at the start of the tournament,” said Iyer.
Deshpande claimed three wickets and Bangladesh left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman took two for Chennai.
Ravindra Jadeja helps Chennai Super Kings end Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL winning run
https://arab.news/my3hj
Ravindra Jadeja helps Chennai Super Kings end Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL winning run
- Jadeja’s disciplined left-arm spin led Chennai’s bowling charge to restrict Kolkata to 137-9
Strong Arab lineup set for Saudi Open at Dirab
- Top Saudi Arabia professionals and amateurs will take part from Dec. 10-13
RIYADH: The Saudi Open presented by PIF, taking place at the Dirab Golf and Country Club from Dec. 10 to 13, will feature one of the largest domestic and Arab fields in the tournament’s history.
This year’s championship includes leading Arab players from Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and Algeria, alongside a powerful Saudi Arabia presence comprising professionals and amateurs.
Five of Saudi Arabia’s top professionals and Golf Saudi ambassadors will compete: Othman Almulla, Saud Al-Sharif, Faisal Salhab, Khalid Attieh, and Shergo Al-Kurdi.
In addition several Saudi amateurs are competing including Abdulhakim Alnajran, Khalid Al-Qunai’bit, Ali Babtain, and Prince Khalid bin Saud Al-Faisal. They will face an elite international field at the Asian Tour’s season-ending event.
With a prize fund of $1 million, the event offers a valuable opportunity for Arab and Saudi players to gain international exposure.
This year marks the first time the season finale has been hosted at the Dirab Golf Club, one of the Kingdom’s established courses, that has helped introduce the game to new players.
Almulla, Saudi Arabia’s first professional golfer, will bring leadership and experience to the national lineup. Almulla has been a part of the national golf program for more than a decade.
Salhab and Attieh have come through the national pathway and now compete regularly against leading fields in the region.
Al-Sharif remains a core member of Saudi national teams and continues to build his experience across a range of events. The inclusion of emerging amateur Alnajran reflects the opportunity for promising amateurs to test themselves in a high-performance environment.
