• Rahane helps Chennai steamroll Kolkata

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    An electric 71* off just 29 balls by Ajinkya Rahane helped the Chennai Super Kings blow away the Kolkata Knight Riders and move top of the IPL table on Sunday.

    Chennai racked up this season’s highest total of 234-5.

    Despite a blistering 61 off 26 by Jason Roy and a valiant half-century by Rinku Singh, Kolkata fell 49 runs short in front of 60,000 fans at a noisy Eden Gardens to suffer their fourth straight defeat.

    Put in to bat, opener Devon Conway hit his fourth consecutive half-century before Rahane and Shivam Dube launched into the Kolkata attack with a barrage of 10 sixes and eight fours to put on 85 off just 32 balls.

    Once Kulwant Khejroliya dismissed Dube in the 18th over Rahane moved up a gear, smashing 21 runs off the final five balls he faced to give Chennai their third-highest total in IPL history.

    “I came into the season with a clear mind and trying to enjoy my batting,” Rahane said. “Playing with [Chennai captain] MS Dhoni, he makes you feel that you can achieve anything.”

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    Kolkata got off to a disastrous start, with Sunil Narine falling for a duck to Akash Singh and Narayan Jagadeesan back in the hutch for one to leave the hosts flailing on 1-2.

    Venkatesh Iyer struck a useful 20 before falling lbw to Moeen Ali and Nitish Rana made 27 as Roy raced to his 50 accompanied by the dangerous Rinku.

    But the English bruiser was out-foxed by Maheesh Theekshana and Rinku – who made 53* – lost partners, with Andre Russell, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy all out cheaply.

    Theekshana ended with 2-32 and Tushar Deshpande 2-43.

    © Agence France-Presse

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    Simon Borchardt