Two of the Caribbean’s finest, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, lit up Eden Gardens with flashes of brilliance on Wednesday, but their efforts proved in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fell just short in a heart-wrenching two-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which all but ended their hopes of an Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff berth.

Narine cracked a breezy 26 off 17 balls, including four boundaries and a six, while Russell delivered a signature power-packed finish with 38 off 21, peppered with four fours and three sixes, to help KKR post a respectable 179-6 on a pitch that offered a lot of assistance to the spinners.

But despite their muscle and flair, and even after having CSK five down within the powerplay, KKR could not contain Dewald Brevis’s blitz and MS Dhoni’s nerve, as the Super Kings clawed their way to 183-8 with two balls to spare.

Electing to bat first, KKR were clearly aiming to capitalize on the powerplay, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz started with intent before falling for 11. Narine, promoted once again, took the fight to the bowlers. He especially targeted Ravichandran Ashwin, as he took 14 runs off him in one over to push KKR to 67-1 in six overs.

But once the field spread and the spinners took over, the runs dried up. Noor Ahmad exploited the spinning conditions masterfully to turn the game with a double strike in his first over—dismissing Narine via a sharp stumping and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (one) caught behind to stall KKR’s momentum.

Amid the mid-innings lull, Ajinkya Rahane (48) and Manish Pandey, who was left unbeaten on 36, managed a steady partnership before Russell took charge at the death. The Jamaican unleashed his brutal hitting in the final overs to haul KKR from a precarious 103-4 in the 13th over to a competitive total. His late assault ensured 76 runs came in the last seven overs, though the final over, bowled by Matheesha Pathirana, yielded just singles.

Noor Ahmad ended with 4-31.

Chasing 180 on a tricky surface, CSK’s debutant Urvil Patel made an instant impression with a fearless 31 off 11, but KKR’s spinners soon reduced CSK to 60-5 inside the powerplay. The match seemed to be tilting in KKR’s favour until Dewald Brevis exploded in the 11th over and took 30 runs off Vaibhav Arora with a furious display of power-hitting that included two of his four sixes and four fours.

Even after Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Brevis for a 25-ball 52, the ever-calm MS Dhoni (17 not out) and explosive Shivam Dube kept the chase alive. With 53 needed off 47 balls, the experienced duo navigated the spinners and paced the innings expertly.

Though Dube fell for a well-played 45 off 40 balls in the penultimate over, Dhoni’s six off the first ball of the last over set up the win.

Arora ended with 3-48, while Harshit Rana (2-43) and Chakravarthy (2-18) offered support.

With the loss, KKR remain sixth on 11 points and a fading pulse in the playoff race, while CSK remain rooted at the foot of the standings on six points.