McCullum And Brad Hodge Gundown Chennai In Successful Chase Of 188....

Kolkata Knight Riders, powered by fifties from Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge, staged one of the most thrilling chases in the tournament and showed why the bottom-placed team may still prove to be the king-makers in this crucial last phase of the league games. Chennai Super Kings, who looked set to seal a semi-final spot with their mammoth total batting first, will now have to put the celebrations on hold.

The run-chase owed its success to three partnerships: the opening stand totally dominated by McCullum, his association with Hodge, where he took charge initially before letting his partner step up, and Hodge's match-winning association with Wriddhiman Saha, whose calm presence combined well with the timely acceleration to stun Chennai.

The return of the seamers at the death heralded a decisive shift in the game as Hodge found an unlikely foil in Saha, who smote a six and a four in the 17th over from L Balaji that went for 14. The next over from Albie Morkel bled 13, with Hodge collecting two fours, one slapped back past the bowler and the other swung behind square leg.