Abu Dhabi: Talismanic opening batsman Rahul Tripathi's 81 run knock help Kolkata Knight Riders post 167/10 against Chennai Super Kings here at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
After opting to bat first, KKR openers gave the side a solid start by scoring 37 runs by the fifth over. Shubman Gill, who was looking in good touched, nicked one to MS Dhoni on the bowling of Shardul Thakur after scoring 11 runs.
Rahul, who was opening the batting for Kolkata franchise for the first time, played a gem of an innings by scoring 81 runs in 51 balls studded with three maximums and eight boundaries.
KKR's favourite choice at number three Nitish Rana also failed to make an impact in this innings. He was removed by Karn Sharma, who was playing his first match of the season.
Regular opener for Dinesh Kartik's side, Sunil Narine was sent at number four in this game. The left-hand batter scored 17 runs in 9 balls before being dismissed by Sharma. He was followed by Eoin Morgan who was removed by Sam Curran at 7.
KKR's destructive all-rounder Andre Russell once again failed and was dismissed by Thakur on two.
After the wicket of Rahul, captain Karthik was expected to give the finishing touch but again failed to provide it.
For CSK, Sharma, Curran and Thakur picked two wickets each while Dwayne Bravo had the best day with the ball as he clinched three wickets. Veteran Deepak Chahar had an off-day as he leaked runs at the economy of almost 12 without taking any wickets.
