CSK vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Cricket Score: Kolkata three down in 193 chase, eyes on Rahane

Finally, a catch has been taken. Brevis dropped a tough one and just now Sarfaraz had missed a rather easier one at deep mid-wicket. But now Brevis holds as Raghuvanshi is gone for 27 off 19 balls. KKR 79/3 after 9.3, need 114 from 63 balls.

This was a tough chance, but could Brevis parry it to avoid a six? This was hit well by Raghuvanshi as Brevis, from long-on, runs to his right and behind. He got hands on it but was in no position to take it. It goes all the way for a six. KKR are at 58/2 after 8 overs.

Narine's rough outing ends as he has been caught out at short third. Gaikwad would be relieved as he had dropped a dolly of Narine in the previous over of Kamboj. KKR are now 2 down for 29 after 4.2 overs. Raghuvanshi is now in with Rahane. 

And CSK get the big fish in Finn Allen as Anshul Kamboj strikes. Just short of a fuller length outside off. It shapes away a bit as Allen goes for a hoic and gets a top-edge. Shivam Dube takes the easy one at covers. Rahane now in. KKR 14/1 after 2.

Sunil Narine struggled for a while, but hit a six in the fifth ball as well. He played five dots too. KKR are off to a decent start as they are 7/0 after the first over. All eyes on Finn Allen now. 

It's Sunil Narine who walks to bat alongside Finn Allen. What a surprise! Ajinkya Rahane is likely to bat at number three. Meanwhile, Khaleel Ahmed has been handed the new ball. 

What a spectacular final over from Kartik Tyagi. Just eight runs off the final over as CSK post 192/5 in the first innings. The game is certainly on in Chepauk.

Vaibhav Arora bowled nine balls in the over, but CSK managed to score only nine. They are struggling in the middle. End of the 19th over, CSK are 184/5. They would hope for a better finish and reach 200 at least in the final over of the innings. 

Pace off and wide of the crease from Kartik Tyagi got the trick against Dewald Brevis. The South Africa international failed to time it as Vaibhav Arora picked up a good catch. Brevis departed for 41 runs off 29 balls. CSK are 171/5 after 17.3 overs.

A good over for CSK as Vaibhav Arora erred in his lengths. He went short one too many times and paid the price. Two sixes and a four in a 20-run over. But Sunil Narine comes for his final over and gets Sarfaraz on a one that turned away from the right-hander. CSK 162/4 after 16.1

VC has erred a bit in his line and lengths in the 14th over, and he has been punished. Sarfaraz tonks him over long-on. Brevis cuts him for two fours as CSK take 15 from the over. They are at 136/3 after 14 as we head into the second timeout.

And Samson has been dismissed after a six off Kartik Tyagi. He slammed him down the ground on a short and wide bouncer. But the bowler goes fuller and pace on for the second one. Samson swings but misses as he has been cleaned up. CSK 111/3 after 11.2.

100 is up for CSK in the 10th over. After a fiery start, CSK have been anchoring this with an odd boundary every over. But this shall not continue for long enough, as it might hamper their scoring. A tight three-run over from VC. CSK 105/2 after 11. 

CSK are going well currently. Brevis hit Sunil Narine for a six over long-on. Samson then hit Chakravarthy for a four in the next over as the bowler went wide. VC was tight to the stumps on some occasions. CSK 89/2 after 8.

Not the time CSK would have wanted to lose this. Mhatre was going so well, but was dismissed by Vaibhav Arora on this bouncer. Much better bowling from Vaibhav after three consecutive fours from Mhatre. With two fielders in the deep on the leg side, Arora went for two bouncers. He gets Mhatre on the sixth ball of the over. CSK 72/2 after 6. 

Ayush Mhatre puts Cameron Green to the sword. He hits him for two fours and two sixes in a big over. Green makes big errors in his line and length, going unnecessarily short two times and wide on another. 21 runs from the over. CSK 52/1 after 4.

And the string of low scores continues for Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has now been dismissed for seven. Anukul Roy pitches this fuller on the off side as Gaikwad looks to slog sweep. He perfectly picks the deep mid-wicket, the only fielder outside on the leg side. Mhatre is in as he joins Samson. CSK 31/1 after 3.

Sanju Samson hits three consecutive fours to kick start the proceedings here against Vaibhav. He guides a back-of-a-length ball wide of the short third on his right. Then cuts one towards the point. The third was a bit risky as it went between the first slip and the third. 14 from the first over without a loss. CSK are up and running.

CSK with the same opening combination of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson as no Ayush Mhatre at the top, despite voices growing for his promotion. KKR to start with Vaibhav Arora. Samson to take strike. 

"I'm going to go through the dimensions. To my right, we've got a 70-meter hit. To my left, just a shorter boundary tonight of 63 meters. And straight back over the bowler's head is 79 meters. So they're the dimensions tonight. When we look at this Chepauk wicket, WV, you know it better than most, how's it going to play here tonight? It looks good. It looks hard. It's been well-rolled. And we've seen different kind of pitches this season, aren't we, at this particular venue. Because the pitches have been hard. There's a lot more carry, a lot more bounce. And that's the reason we're seeing a lot of batters enjoying themselves. Couple of occasions, they got past the 200 mark here when they played the matches this season. And I expect that trend to continue tonight as well. And when you look at CSK's results, they lost to Punjab here, then won the second game against Delhi. The spinners, it's been a fortress for CSK over the years, but the spinners have found it tough this series so far. Do you expect there to be much turn here tonight? Not really, because their entire attack is dependent on the fast bowlers and the medium-pacers. So they're going to be street-smart. There's going to be a lot of variations being brought in by the fast bowlers. And that will be something that we'll see a lot frequently tonight. And when we talk about the power of both lineups, we've got Sanju Samson coming off a magnificent 100 in the last game here against Delhi. And then we've got the Kiwi masterblaster at Finn Allen at the top of the order for KKR. Hasn't got going yet, but if those two get going tonight, it could well be a six-hitting fest. Yeah, it'll be definitely because they're all capable of decimating any attack. Well, there you have it. Should be a high-scoring affair here tonight at the Chepauk," Simon Katich and WV Raman.

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact subs - Finn Allen, Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Dahiya, Tim Seifert, Navdeep Saini

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

KKR might bring in Finn Allen. CSK might get Henry or Hosein.

"Looking to bowl first. I think the last game was really good for us. Unfortunately, the result didn't go our way. But I thought the kind of cricket we played, guys are getting that confidence from the last game. It's all about starting fresh. It's important when things are not going your way, it's important to have that belief, stay positive and having those small, small moments in T20 format is really important. So, now looking forward to this game, we'll start off really well with the ball and then look to chase down the target," Rahane said at the toss.

"Yes, absolutely. The kind of knock Mukul played at the night was fantastic. I mean, it's going to happen in this format. As I said, it's all about belief. You know, guys are working really hard. For us, what matters is, putting those hard efforts, focusing on the control levels as players and, you know, having that belief in each and every individual. As I said, the combination looked really good for us in the last game. So, yeah, thinking about this game and just wanted to be in the moment. I mean, it is challenging after the mega auction to find the right balance and obviously the flow players are going through the injuries, players are unavailable. Tonight, just one change for us. Varun Chakaravarthy is fit. He's come in in place of Navdeep Saini," he added.

KKR Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora

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

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said that he also wanted to bowl first. He confirms that there is no change in the team as MS Dhoni is still not part of the Playing XI or XII. 

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane has won the toss and has opted to bowl first. KKR have made one change. Varun Chakravarthy is back in the team after missing two matches due to a hand injury. He comes in for Navdeep Saini.

Varun Chakravarthy has marked his run-up and is bowling on the side wicket. It looks like he will return today. What about MS? This game seems to be way too early for the CSK talisman.

CSK are up against KKR at the Chepauk in a battle of two struggling teams in the IPL 2026. KKR are struggling more than CSK, who have secured their first win of the tournament, against the Delhi Capitals and hope to revive their fortunes. KKR have one point from their washout against the Punjab Kings and are looking for their first win of the season.