Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated a masterclass all-round show as Chennai Super Kings regained their winning touch with a comprehensive 28-run win over Punjab Kings in a low-scoring IPL match in Dharamsala on Sunday. Wily leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (3/23) and seamer Harshal Patel (3/24) put on a spirited show but Jadeja made a crucial 43 that came off just 26 balls to propel CSK to a par 167/9 after they were sent to bat by Sam Curran. The left-arm spinner then returned to take three for 20 in four overs in the crucial middle-over phase to derail PBKS' chase, which ended at 139 for nine.
Comeback pacer Tushar Deshpande (2/35) and impact sub Simarjeet Singh (2/16) were also present among the wickets.
Mitchell Santner, playing his first match of the season, was brilliant in his neat 1/10 from three overs.
Eyeing a sixth consecutive win over CSK in the IPL, PBKS found themselves at 78 for seven against Jadeja's match-turning spell.
So, after losing three of their last four matches, five-time champions CSK returned to victory and jumped to third place in the standings.
CSK now have 12 points with three games to go to secure their play-off spot.
PBKS – eight points from eleven games – dropped to eighth place after their seventh defeat of the season.
Kiwi left-arm spinner Santner set it up early for CSK. Bowling with the new ball, he gave away just four runs from his two overs and took the key wicket of Shashank Singh (27; 20b, 4×4) against the run of play.
Deshpande delivered a double blow, cleaning up Jonny Bairstow (7) and Rilee Rossouw (0) in three balls.
PBKS found some rhythm as Prabhsimran Singh and the in-form Shashank took charge of CSK bowlers and amassed 31 runs to end the powerplay on a high.
Prabhsimran defeated Richard Gleeson with one four and a six in a run of 15, while Prabhsimran took on Deshpande and hit him with two fours and one six.
It looked like one-way traffic for the home side before Santner cleverly varied his pace as Shashank over-lashed.
PBKS were riding in top gear at 62/2 and then lost half their side in 9.4 overs.
It ended a riveting partnership of 53 runs off 36 balls between Shashank and Prabhsimran. Jadeja soon opened his account and fired Prabhsimran.
Prabhsimran looked at ease but the opener was lured by Jadeja's full ball onto the stump.
The right-hander looked to be going inside out but a lack of pace prevented him from clearing the long-on, where substitute Sameer Rizvi took an easy catch.
Simarjeet chipped with a wicket in his first over, dismissing Jitesh Sharma for a first-ball duck.
Jadeja gave away just three runs in his next over and completed a decisive spell by beating Curran (7) and the in-form Ashutosh Sharma (3) in the 13th over.
As the runs dried up, Curran started to feel the heat and took Jadeja's big delivery but hit it straight to Santner at long-off.
Ashutosh was then killed after mistimed his big hoick to be caught by Simarjeet at third man, giving Jadeja a three-for.
Earlier, at 60/1 in Power Play, CSK did well with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell in the middle during an entertaining 57-run partnership as Chahar caused a collapse by taking two wickets in two balls.
The partnership was halted when CSK lost three wickets in 11 balls, with Harshal taking the dangerous-looking Mitchell (30; 19b, 2×4, 1×6) in a controversial DRS call.
Harshal returned at the death to dismiss Shardul Thakur (17) and MS Dhoni for a golden duck as CSK's hopes of a revival went up in smoke.
First, he cleared Thakur with a slower off-cutter as the CSK fans in Dharamsala waited for another piece of Dhoni magic with eight balls to go.
But the Yellow Army left in disbelief as the talismanic Dhoni departed in the very first ball, unable to counter Harshal's impeccably executed slow yorker.
With no time to get his bat down, Dhoni's stump was knocked down.
Punjab continued to take away the wickets but it was Jadeja who remained steadfast and calmly went about his business, picking the odd boundaries and sixes to take them to a par score.
After a quiet penultimate over yielded just two runs for two wickets, Jadeja held his nerve and took on Arshdeep in the final over by hitting him for a boundary and a six.
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