Chennai Super Kings 141 for 3 (Gaikwad 67, Arora 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 137 for 9 (Iyer 34, Jadeja 3-18, Deshpande 3-33, Mustafizur 2-22) by seven wickets

After two back-to-back defeats on the road, Chennai Super Kings returned to the comforts of home and to winning ways, consigning Kolkata Knight Riders to their first loss of IPL 2024.

With three to win, in walked MS Dhoni, causing bedlam in the Chepauk stands. But it was Gaikwad who fittingly finished off the chase by crashing Anukul Roy through covers.

Gaikwad's welcome return to form

It hasn't been the strongest of starts for Gaikwad in IPL 2024. Coming into the game, he had only managed 88 runs in four innings, averaging 22 in the tournament. But with a modest target in front of him, he bedded in for the long haul. After a watchful first over, he got going with a ramp off Vaibhav Arora and moved from 4 off 9 to 32 off 23 by the end of the powerplay.

The early impetus was provided by Rachin Ravindra who went after Mitchell Starc, but once he fell, Gaikwad made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking. With Ajinkya Rahane struggling with a calf strain, he had additional responsibility and took up the role well.

Gaikwad took on the left-arm spin of Anukul Roy, backing away first ball of the fifth over and creaming him through covers. He repeated those shots twice over before smashing Vaibhav Arora for two back-to-back fours. CSK had raced to 52 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.

Full report to follow...