Alleging that the Indian Premier League IPL was being organised to divert attention from the raging Cauvery protests across the state, pro-Tamil groups like the Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) and a forum of Tamil film directors had given a boycott call of the game.
Advertisement
They were suspended for the last two years over the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, but have started the 11th edition with two thrilling wins, serving notice they will be a force to contend with again.
IPL sources said Visakhapatnam is likely to be picked by the CSK management due to logistical reasons.
A couple of protestors hurled shoes at players from the upper tier of the stands while Kolkata Knight Riders were batting.
However, CSK are not playing a home match before April 20 and situation may get better before the clash against Royals.
Earlier, it was a positive start once again for KKR after Dhoni won the toss and made a decision to put Kolkata in to bat. Opening partner Chris Lynn followed in the sixth over after a 22-run knock from 16 balls. The Dinesh Karthik-led team KKR set a target of 203 runs for Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team CSKs’. CSK needed 4 runs off last 2 balls, when Ravindra Jadeja hit a six and secured victory for his team. Chennai won the toss and elected to bowl first and were blown away by West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell’s innings of unbeaten 88 from just 36 balls.
Kolkata recovered from losing four wickets in a row during the middle overs. But neither would ever match Chepauk for CSK. But Kolkata finally pulled it back with Tom Curran sending back Watson for a 19-ball 42 as CSK ended the powerplay on 75/1 after 6 overs.
Heaping praise on Billings, Dhoni also emphasised on the aspect of keeping emotions in check and not being too expressive on the field or at the dugout.
Advertisement
But Billings (56 off 23) nailed five maximums of his own, including back-to-back efforts off Russell in the 18th over, before Ravindra Jadeja smeared the penultimate ball of Vinay Kumar’s error-strewn final over for six to spark wild Chennai celebrations. Chennai’s injury woes continues to deepen as they have already lost Kedar Jadhav and even experienced opener Murali Vijay is still recovering from sore ribs.
