Watch cricket video highlights between Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings. Indian Premier League 2024 forty ninth match, played at Chennai.
At the Chepauk Stadium, Punjab Kings made it two victories in a row with a convincing seven-wicket victory, leaving the Chennai Super Kings stunned and maintaining a remote possibility of qualifying for the playoffs. They now share the distinction of becoming the second side, after Mumbai Indians, to defeat CSK five times in a row. That was a long way from PBKS’ incredible victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that ended their three-game losing streak. Their spinners were the stars of the show this time, limiting CSK to 162 for 7. On a steaming Chennai evening, Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar took two wickets apiece and went boundaryless for their four overs, choking the batting opposition.
Sam Curran had chosen to bowl. A disjointed 20 overs were kept together by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 62. Following his limping off after delivering the first two deliveries of the chase, CSK found themselves shorthanded in terms of bowlers. Even though Prabhsimran Singh was dismissed by Richard Gleeson to mark his IPL debut, Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Roussouw combined for 64 off 37 deliveries to put them ahead of the pace. Both were able to see their side home, and maybe they ought to have. With 13 deliveries remaining, Curran and Shashank Singh ultimately waltzed across the line.
Saying that CSK was stuck in the middle of their innings would be a huge understatement. Following three consecutive fours from Ajinkya Rahane off Sam Curran to end the powerplay, the hosts went 55 deliveries without conceding a boundary off the bat, the greatest stretch this season, surpassing Gujarat Titan’s 38 against Delhi Capitals. Rahul and Brar’s twin spin threat deserves all the praise. From the sixth over onwards, the left-arm spinner and the legspinner combined for seven overs at a rapid pace, immobilising the hosts. They took three wickets off CSK’s hand to snuff away any enthusiasm following their greatest opening stand of the season (64).
In an attempt to offset the direction of turn of both spinners, CSK sought to frontload their batting card with left-hand batsmen, of which two were Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja. Damn match-ups, it just didn’t work. Brar delivered his four overs (2 for 17) quickly, wicket-to-wicket, offering the occasional batsman a chance to turn the ball but often leaving them little to work with. Rahul came back in the 19th and went for just three (more on that later), taking off Moeen Ali’s leg stump (another legbreak) on the way to finish with 2 for 16 himself, just when it appeared that he would be the star of the double act.
Alright, he was out trying to get a second run off the last pitch. However, the fact remains that MS Dhoni has not yet been removed from the game by a bowler in the 2024 IPL. Not that PBKS didn’t have his measure, mind you. Spinner bowling at the death may be a dangerous game. Teams are using wristspinners more frequently, but not as late as the 19th over or with a wristspinner like Rahul, who has less experience than players like Rashid Khan or Yuzvendra Chahal. However, Dhoni’s batting stroke has not been as effective against spin in a while, so CSK makes sure he arrives late enough to avoid having to cope with the turning ball.
Before Wednesday, of the 37 balls he has faced this season, only three had come from spinners. When Dhoni was on strike in the penultimate over of the innings, PBKS made a percentage-based decision to bowl Rahul. Chahar performed his task by directing the ball to the leg side, away from Dhoni’s striking arc. Four balls were thrown down, three of which went outside the off stump. Only when Dhoni attempted to generate something by going towards off did Chahar throw one down the leg, and that one narrowly missed leg stump.
Who knows how much worse things may have become for CSK if their captain hadn’t been there. The only notable and clear score of the season was Gaikwad’s fifth score of fifty or more. It also extended his incredible record of scoring at Chepauk, where he currently leads all CSK batters at home in an IPL season with 396 runs. Devon Conway’s 390 in 2023 was the previous record, and Gaikwad has one more knock at home during the regular season to add some luster to that honor. He scored 30 of his 62 in the opening stand against Rahane, but when it fell, there was a brief collapse to 70 for 3.
Gaikwad scored his final 17 runs from only nine deliveries, including a second six of the innings shortly after reaching a half-century off 44 balls. Gaikward and the CSK administration have a lot to think about because the bowling supplies appear a little light with Mustafizur Rahman returning to Bangladesh and Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande out due to illness and injury. Fortunately, the captain’s form is not an issue, but he would almost definitely forfeit his recently acquired orange headgear in order to win a toss.
Sameer Rizvi seemed relieved to see a scratched line beyond Jitesh Sharma’s gloves. It was not just his first boundary (off his 22nd delivery), but it also immediately put an end to the drought. An unwelcome new record. Rizvi, who was brought in to replace Rahane, chose to puffed out his chest at the age of 21 off 22. He reasoned that Kagiso Rabada’s increased pace would enable him to lead more methodically behind square. He moved over with his bat face fully extended to launch the ball into the distance. It was likely the finest touch he had made all evening. His contact with the ball was sharp. Sadly, a catch came as a result of Harshal Patel’s hustling from deep third. The impact substitution has drawn criticism for being suggested as the cause of this season’s dramatic increase in goals. This was an illustration of how it may go wrong.
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