Faf du Plessis’ hot run of form ended as the Chennai Super Kings suffered a 10-run defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.

Du Plessis came into this match ranked second on the run-scorer’s list, but he couldn’t keep his form going, scoring just 17 as the Super Kings chased 168 for victory.

Shane Watson scored 50 to anchor the innings, but his team fell apart after a solid start on a wicket that wasn’t conducive to shot making.

KKR suffered a similar batting collapse, which saw them forced to revise a projected score in excess of 185 and settle for one that looked below par.

Their charge was led by Rahul Tripathi, who’s 81 came off 51 deliveries. But he lost partners at regular intervals, and this, combined with restrictive bowling by the CSK unit, resulted in them posting a total that a CSK side loaded with batting talent would have been confident of chasing.

For half their innings they were on track to do just that, but they lost Ambati Rayudu (30), Watson, MS Dhoni (11) and Sam Curran (17) in the space of 30 runs and scored just 14 runs between the crucial overs 11 through 14.

They never recovered from this period, earning KKR a well-deserved victory.

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