|| CF DESK ||

Ravindra Jadeja returned bowling figures of 3-18 as holders Chennai Super Kings handed Kolkata Knight Riders their first loss of this Indian Premier League season with a seven-wicket hammering on Monday.

Jadeja's disciplined left-arm spin led Chennai's bowling charge to restrict Kolkata to 137-9, a total the home team overhauled with 14 balls to spare at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

Two-time winners Kolkata suffered defeat after three straight victories.

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led the chase with an unbeaten 67 and a 70-run second-wicket partnership with Daryl Mitchell, who made 25, to make Chennai bounce back from two losses.

Gaikwad, who was handed the captaincy by veteran Dhoni ahead of the season, hammered nine boundaries including the winning hit to make it three in three at home this season.

Shivam Dube hit 28 off 18 balls before departing with Chennai needing three for victory and the crowd erupted at the sight of Dhoni, who led the team to five IPL titles, walking out to bat.

The 42-year-old, who is likely playing his last season as player, made one off three balls amid loud cheers from the fans dressed in the Chennai's yellow.

Kolkata had a horror start to their innings after they lost England's Phil Salt on the first ball off fast bowler Tushar Dehspande.

Jadeja remained the hero as he struck on the first ball of his opening over and sent back the in-form Sunil Narine (27) four balls later to put Kolkata in trouble at 60-3 inside seven overs.

Wickets kept tumbling as Jadeja, who reached 100 catches in the IPL, took one more and fellow spinner Maheesh Theekshana reduced the opposition to 85-5 in 11.5 overs.

The innings never took off with skipper Shreyas Iyer adding some respect with his 34 in 32 balls.

Deshpande claimed three wickets and Bangladesh left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman took two for Chennai.

Mustafizur's impeccable control restricted Kolkata to just 12 runs in his first two overs, which included seven dot balls, showcasing his mastery over the art of variations during the Powerplay.

Despite a missed opportunity to dismiss Andre Russell, Mustafizur maintained his composure and continued to apply pressure. Although he bowled four dot balls to Russell in one over, a dropped catch by MS Dhoni led to Mustafizur conceding nine runs, including a no-ball and a wide.

Mustafizur's persistence paid off in the final over of the innings, where Jadeja's exceptional fielding led to two crucial dismissals, including his 100th IPL catch.

With Jadeja's catch to dismiss KKR captain Shreyas Iyer and Rachin Ravindra's catch to send most expensive player of IPL history Mitchell Starc packing, Mustafizur rounded off his spell on a high note, contributing significantly to Chennai's comprehensive performance.