CSK vs KKR Highlights, IPL 2026: Noor Ahmad, Akeal Hosein take Super Kings home; Knights remain winless

CSK VS KKR Highlights: Noor Ahmad bowled a brilliant spell to help CSK win.

CSK vs KKR IPL 2026 Highlights: Noor Ahmad gave CSK the much-needed wicket of Rahane and then followed it up with that of Green, the very next delivery. That put the Kolkata Knight Riders under pressure in the chase. Ultimately, the Knights posted 160/7 at the end of their 20 overs and lost the match by 32 runs.

The Knight Riders pulled off a surprise move at the start of the chase by promoting Sunil Narine to open with Finn Allen. However, the move did not come off as the side lost both Allen and Narine cheaply in the chase of 193. Anshul Kamboj removed Allen while Khaleel accounted for Narine. After this, Rahane and Raghuvanshi formed a great partnership, dragging KKR back in the chase. The KKR skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, looked determined to play a defining knock.

After the departure of Mhatre, Dewald Brevis joined Sanju Samson in the middle. While they tried to keep the aggressive mode going, KKR made a good comeback with defensive bowling and brought the scoring rate down. The pressure built, and Sanju Samson was bowled by Kartik Tyagi after scoring 48 runs off 32 deliveries. After this, KKR exerted their control over the game with some brilliant bowling. Chennai completely lost the momentum of their progress and could not find a way to increase their scoring rate in time. In the end, they could manage just 192/5 at the end of their 20 overs.

KKR won the toss ahead of the game and put CSK to bat. Sanju Samson provided a flying start to the Super Kings, but Ruturaj Gaikwad struggled to find his rhythm. The opening partnership had walked only 25 runs when CSK lost Gaikwad as their first wicket. Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre got together after this and stabilised the proceedings for their team. The partnership between Mhatre and Samson added 47 runs quickly before it was broken by Vaibhav Arora.

Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders arrive at Chepauk with more baggage than momentum, which is what gives this game its edge. Between them, eight IPL titles, but the table is showing no respect for history right now. CSK are down in the ninth with just two points from four matches, while KKR are even worse off, still winless and carrying only one point after a washout against Punjab Kings.

For Chennai, the relief came two nights ago when Sanju Samson finally gave shape to a new-look batting order, blasting an unbeaten 115 off 56 balls as CSK made 212 for 2 and beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs. Ayush Mhatre's 59 off 36 added a layer of intent that had been missing from Chennai's start, and Jamie Overton's four wickets underlined that this side may be finding a new route to winning at home. That is the intriguing part of tonight's contest too: CSK's identity has looked less about old Chepauk spin orthodoxy and more about pace, hard lengths and scoreboard pressure.

KKR, meanwhile, have been living a far more chaotic season. They have shown enough batting to suggest danger, including a 220 for 4 against the Mumbai Indians and 181 for 4 against the Lucknow Super Giants, but neither total brought them a win. Mumbai chased 221, and LSG broke through on the last after KKR had them six down for 125. That pattern has hurt them more than a simple lack of talent ever could. The questions around Sunil Narine's role, Cameron Green's returns and the bowling group's control at the death have followed them into Chennai.

The rivalry still tilts toward CSK, who lead the head-to-head 21-12 with one no-result across 34 meetings, but the more relevant detail is that the gap has narrowed in recent seasons, with the teams sharing three wins each since 2022. So, this will be a stress test for the two teams. Chennai are trying to prove the Delhi result was not a one-night flare, and Kolkata are trying to show their season is not already leaking away through a series of almosts. That makes this one less about reputation and more about nerve, adaptibility and who handles the weight of the early-table damage better.

Playing XIs

Knight Riders Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh (vc), Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed

Impact substitute options

Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Dahiya, Tim Seifert, Navdeep Saini

Chennai Super Kings: Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Matt Henry