Punjab Kings put on a pragmatic chase to send Chennai Super Kings to a demoralizing seven-wicket defeat at their own den in their IPL match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. Punjab rode quick 40s from Jonny Bairstow (46, 30b, 7×4, 1×6) and Rilee Rossouw (43, 23b, 5×4, 2×6) to get past Chennai's modest 162 for seven, which was built around skipper's solid 62 Ruturaj Gaikwad (48b, 5×4, 2×6). The win moved PBKS to seventh place on the points table with eight points, while CSK remained in fourth place with 10 points.
The Super Kings defense of 163 faced multiple barricades as their spinners – Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja – were rendered ineffective due to the dew and pacer Deepak Chahar walked off the field at a niggle after bowling just two balls.
But that shouldn't take the shine off PBKS' efforts with the bat on the evening.
After the early departure of opener Prabhsimran Singh, who played two convincing knocks, Bairstow and Rossouw kept the visitors in the hunt with a handy 64-run alliance as they also went past 50 in the Power Play segment.
Bairstow treated spinners Jadeja and Moeen with contempt by taking three boundaries and a six off them. In stark contrast to their Punjab counterparts, the CSK spinners gave away 44 runs in five overs without any returns.
But Bairstow's attempt to be too bold ended his stay. The England batsman went for a cute ramp shot at Shivam Dube but only managed to take it behind the stumps to MS Dhoni.
However, Rossouw and Shashank Singh (25 not out, 26b) made 44 runs in a short space of time as PBKS remained ahead in the match.
Rossouw, who gave Dube and Thakur a six each, had a brilliant chance to make fifty. But his attempt to knock Thakur's low full toss out of the ground resulted in his stumps being rearranged.
But those were minor annoyances in an otherwise polished effort, as Shashank and skipper Sam Curran (26 not out, 20b) completed the remaining runs without much fanfare during their unbroken 50-run alliance.
Earlier, Gaikwad braved a slow Chepauk delivery to make a solid fifty but CSK struggled mightily against Punjab spinners – Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar.
Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane (29, 24b) added 61 runs for the opening wicket but consumed 49 balls.
There were also flashes of intention. Gaikwad played a fine upper cut-off pacer Arshdeep Singh for a boundary and Rahane hit three fours in a row off Curran, including a nice cover drive.
CSK's slide started when PBKS turned on their spinners immediately after the Power Play which yielded a satisfying 55 runs.
Rahane tried to beat Brar, but his skier ended up in the hands of Rossouw in the depths.
But the left-arm spinner delivered a bigger blow on the next delivery, trapping Dube, who had been named in India's T20 World Cup squad, one leg ahead for a first-ball duck.
Dube, promoted to No. 3 to provide counterspin, failed to connect an almighty heave from a fuller ball on Brar's middle stump and was forced to walk back despite seeking help from DRS.
In the next over, leg-spinner Chahar got rid of Ravindra Jadeja, who was deceived by a delivery that made him whisker to beat his jab.
It was a total shutdown for CSK between sixth and tenth places, losing three wickets for just 16 runs.
For a team that generally controls the middle passage between the seventh and 15th and makes runs at a rate of 10.6, CSK were a shadow of their marauding selves, conceding just 47 runs against PBKS.
Much of the credit should go to two Punjab spinners – Brar and Chahar – who exploited a slow track to the hilt to return with combined figures of 33 in eight overs for four wickets.
They also didn't give any boundaries during their spell.
Gaikwad did his best to bring CSK back into the match, utilizing his wide range of shots against pacers Harshal Patel and Curran, reaching his fifty in 44 balls.
The right-hander brought up his third straight fifty in this IPL with a six off Curran over long-on as they scored 20 runs in that over. CSK made 60 runs in the last five overs.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article