Chennai Super Kings (CSK) remained last in the IPL 2025 points table, despite defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata on Wednesday with a sensational last-over victory.
Only their third win in the competition in 12 matches confirmed their exit from the playoffs, but KKR ended up with a troubling loss, with their playoff hopes remaining slim and desperately relying on other matches to go their way.
Injuries may have hit CSK hard this season, but three players replaced injured players in the playing XI for this match, and two of these players were heavily involved in turning the match in CSK’s favour. Urvil Patel opened his IPL account on his match debut for CSK. He hit his first ball for six off Vaibhav Arora, and, in a blazing 11-ball 31, he added three more boundaries. In a run chase of 180 runs, CSK needed early impetus, which Patel provided.
Updated IPL 2025 Points Table:
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
| 1. Gujarat Titans | 11 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 0.793 |
| 2. Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 11 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 0.482 |
| 3. Punjab Kings | 11 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 0.376 |
| 4. Mumbai Indians | 12 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 1.156 |
| 5. Delhi Capitals | 11 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 0.362 |
| 6. Kolkata Knight Riders | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0.193 |
| 7. Lucknow Super Giants | 11 | 5 | 6 | 10 | -0.469 |
| 8. Sunrisers Hyderabad (E) | 11 | 3 | 7 | 7 | -1.192 |
| 8. Rajasthan Royals (E) | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 | -0.718 |
| 10. Chennai Super Kings (E) | 12 | 3 | 9 | 6 | -0.992 |
CSK’s Power Play Collapse and a Game-Changing Over
Image: The Indian Express
However, Patel’s early fireworks were rapidly eclipsed by a top-order collapse. CSK lost five wickets in the power play, unable to keep up with the required run rate. 93 for 5 after ten overs looked grim. But Dewald Brevis swung the game with a magnificent six-ball burst. He hit Arora 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4 in the 11th over for 30 runs, to reach his first IPL half-century from just 22 balls.
When MS Dhoni took the strike in the last over, with the match balanced, he needed 6 to win from 4 balls. Andre Russell started with a full toss, which Dhoni hammered over mid-wicket. The next two deliveries were tight yorkers, which Dhoni deliberately pushed to long-off, turning down a single on the first and taking a single on the second to tie the scores.
Then came the moment of calm execution from young Anshul Kamboj. He lofted the ball over mid-on, and with that, the thrilling win for CSK was sealed. Although it would do little for CSK’s points tally, it was encouraging to see the spark of their younger replacements, and considerably worrying for KKR, who had a lot of waiting to do.