It was a comprehensive start for Shreyas Iyer as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, as the side registered an emphatic six-wicket victory over defending champions Chennai Super Kings. After restricting the CSK to 131/5 in 20 overs, the Knight Riders chased down the target with nine balls to spare, as new CSK captain Ravindra Jadeja endured a tough outing in his maiden appearance as skipper.
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However, even as CSK faced a tough loss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni -- the side's former captain -- stole the show with an impressive unbeaten half-century as he rolled back the years in style. Dhoni came at a time when CSK were reeling at 61/5 in 10.5 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter then scored 50 of CSK's next 70 runs to take the side to a respectable total.
Take a look at the points table after the opening game of the IPL 2022:
Orange Cap
With an unbeaten half-century off 38 deliveries, Dhoni not only holds the Orange Cap but also remained the only player in the game to score a fifty. Ajinkya Rahane came closest to the former Chennai Super Kings captain, with an important 44 off 34 deliveries as he opened the innings for KKR.
- MS Dhoni (CSK) - 50 runs
- Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) - 44 runs
- Robin Uthappa (CSK) - 28 runs
- Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) - 26 runs
- Sam Billings (KKR) - 25 runs
With an unbeaten half-century off 38 deliveries, Dhoni not only holds the Orange Cap but also remained the only player in the game to score a fifty. Ajinkya Rahane came closest to the former Chennai Super Kings captain, with an important 44 off 34 deliveries as he opened the innings for KKR.
- MS Dhoni (CSK) - 50 runs
- Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) - 44 runs
- Robin Uthappa (CSK) - 28 runs
- Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) - 26 runs
- Sam Billings (KKR) - 25 runs
Purple Cap
Despite ending on the losing side, it was Chennai Super Kings' player who topped the Purple Cap chart as well. Senior all-rounder Dwayne Bravo holds the top position among wicket-takers, as he had three dismissals to his name while defending a lowly 132-run target.
Umesh Yadav, who bowled a splendid opening spell against CSK (where he dismissed openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway), is second.
- Dwayne Bravo (CSK) - 3 wickets
- Umesh Yadav (KKR) - 2 wickets
- Varun Chakravarthy (KKR) - 1 wicket
- Andre Russell (KKR) - 1 wicket
- Mitchell Santner (CSK) - 1 wicket