Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs in Mumbai on Monday night.
Punjab Kings: 187/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 88 not out, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 42; Dwayne Bravo 2/42)
Chennai Super Kings: 176/6 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 30, Ambati Rayudu 78, Ravindra Jadeja 21 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2/23, Rishi Dhawan 2/39)
Punjab Kings have picked up their fourth victory of the IPL 2022 season, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs on Monday night at the Wankhede Stadium.
Seasoned opener Shikhar Dhawan scored an unbeaten 88 and shared a 110-run partnership with Bhanuka Rajapaksa to help Punjab post 187/4.
In reply, Chennai were struggling at 40/3 in 6.6 overs when Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu strung a 49-run partnership to stabilise the innings. Rayudu looked like he would take Chennai home, scoring 78 off just 39 deliveries, but once Rabada castled him, CSK were 153/5 and needed 35 runs from the last 12 deliveries.
Despite the presence of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, Chennai fell short by 11 runs, ending up with 176/6 off their 20 overs. This was their sixth defeat in eight matches and they remained in 9th place. Punjab Kings were placed sixth with eight points from eight matches.
IPL points table after Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings.
(Photo: BCCI)
Dhawan’s 88 was scored off 59 deliveries, including 9 fours and 2 sixes as he helped Punjab Kings to a defendable total after they were asked to bat first by Chennai Super Kings' skipper Ravindra Jadeja.
After he lost his opening partner and skipper Mayank Agarwal (18) with the score reading 37, Dhawan found a willing partner in Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa as they raised 110 runs for the second wicket partnership off 71 deliveries, setting the platform for PBKS's late charge.
Rajapaksa, who was dropped twice when he was on one and five runs, scored 42 off 32 deliveries, hitting two fours and two sixes and helping Dhawan take the score from 37/1 to 147/1 before he was out, caught by Shivam Dube off Dwayne Bravo.
Liam Livingstone struck a few lusty blows in scoring 19 runs off 7 deliveries as PBKS set Chennai Super Kings 188 to win the match.
It was a well-controlled innings as PBKS scored 37 runs in the first six overs, consolidated their position by adding 86 runs from overs 7-15 and then added 63 runs off the last five overs to set up a challenging total for Chennai Super Kings to chase.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa of Punjab Kings and Shikhar Dhawan of Punjab Kings vs CSK
(Photo: BCCI)
PBKS negotiated the six overs of fielding restrictions making 37 runs for the loss of skipper Agarwal.
Agarwal, who struck Maheesh Theekshana for a four past the short third man with a delicate late dab and cut Mitchell Santner for another boundary, was caught by Shivam Dube off Theekshana, trying to cut a carrom ball but failing to keep it down.
Shikhar Dhawan then found a good partner in Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan lived a charmed life, capitalised on two dropped catches to score 42. But more importantly, he figured in a 110-run partnership with Dhawan for the second wicket that helped Punjab Kings set up a platform for a late charge.
Dhawan started slowly, dealing in ones and twos but opened up his arms to hit Theekshana for a superb six in the 6th over, taking a big stride forward to loft an off-break turning away from off-stump over the short-leg boundary.
The former India opener despatched Mukesh Choudhary for two superb boundaries off successive deliveries and repeated the act a ball later, shuffling across the stumps and chipping away a delivery sent down the leg side as he completed his half-century in 37 deliveries, hitting five fours and one six.
He also struck Dwayne Bravo for two successive fours the first off a free-hit after the West Indian bowler landed the first delivery of his over outside the return crease outside off attempting to bowl a wide yorker. In the 19th over, the Delhi opener struck Pretorius for a neat four over short fine leg and also planted Bravo into the stands over the short leg-side boundary for a six.
Rajapaksa was dropped by Ruturaj Gaikwad off CSK skipper Jadeja as he goes down the track and plays uppishly only to see Gaikwad run from deep square leg, get both his hands to the ball but spill it.
Rajapaksa hammered Jadeja for a six through Mitchell Santner's hands at deep midwicket. He hit Bravo and his compatriot Theekshana for a four apiece and blasted Dwaine Pretorius for a big six, planting a wide full toss over Jadeja's head at long-off. Rajapaksa was out caught by Shivam Dube off Bravo as he tried to clear the long-off boundary on a slower one but could not get hold of it properly. But by that time he had done his job, helping Shikhar Dhawan take Punjab Kings to safety.
Chennai's Chase
Chennai got off to a poor start and lost opener Robin Uthappa with 10 runs on the board as he top-edged a length ball by Sandeep Sharma to Shikhar Dhawan. It soon became 40/3 as Mitchell Santner (9) and Shivam Dube (8) got out cheaply.
But just when it looked like they would suffer a collapse, Rayudu got together with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad to pull them out of the woods. Both batters started cautiously but struck some fine boundaries on the right occasions to keep Chennai's hopes alive.
They added 49 runs for the fourth wicket and just when it was looking like they will raise the tempo, Gaikwad, who despatched Rabada to the boundaries off successive deliveries in the first over, was out, caught by Mayank Agarwal while trying to hit Rabada for a second successive four in the 13th over.
Ambati Rayudu of the Chennai Super Kings and Ruturaj Gaikwad of the Chennai Super Kings.
(Photo: BCCI)
Rayudu however, kept up the good work. He struck Sandeep Sharma for fours off successive deliveries as the bowler strayed on legs and blasted Rahul Chahar for a four and a six in the 15th over before hammering Sandeep Sharma for 23 runs in the 16th over, blasting three sixes and a four.
He and skipper Ravindra Jadeja raised 64 runs for the fifth wicket in 32 balls, Rayudu doing the bulk of the scoring. He got out just when it looked he was good for a century, cleaned up by Rabada with a superb yorker backing away from the leg side but missing the ball completely to see his leg stump re-arranged.
Rayudu's brilliant 78 off 39 balls left CSK needing 47 off 24 balls.
They reached a stage where they needed 27 off the last six deliveries with Jadeja and M.S Dhoni at the crease.
Dhoni struck Rishi Dhawan for a six off the first ball but was out off the third legal delivery and Jadeja could manage only a six and a single off the final two deliveries as CSK slumped to their sixth defeat in eight matches -- ending with 176/6 in 20 overs.
(With inputs from IANS)
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