IPL 2024: Punjab Kings Secure Victory Over Chennai Super Kings, Win by 7 Wickets

Punjab Kings registered yet another win on the road against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Indian Premier League (IPL) match no. 49. The visitors restricted Chennai to 161 for 7 as the PBKS spinners starred with the ball before chasing down the target with 7 wickets and 13 balls to spare; Thanks to the contributions of English player Jonny Bairstow and South African batsman Riley Rossouw. CSK were put into bat by PBKS stand-in skipper Sam Curran as the hosts’ opening pair of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane produced results for the first time in the ongoing campaign as the pair put on a 64-run stand for the first. In the ninth over of the game, the wicket fell before the veteran batsman was dismissed for 29 off 24 balls by Harpreet Brar.

Shivam Dubey, who has been called up to India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, did not last long at the crease as he was caught out in front of the wicket by the Punjab spinner and returned to the dugout for a golden duck. . Chennai lost their third wicket in the second half when star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja fell prey to Rahul Chahar’s turner. The batting order changes continued from the hosts’ dugout as Sameer Rizvi was brought in as an impactful replacement for the dismissed Rahane. The new wicket slowed down as the spinners stifled the flow of runs in the middle overs after Chennai’s promising start to the game, but skipper Gaekwad and Rizvi extended the testing in the middle. In thirty-six balls, Chennai’s boundary drought ended as a wide from Harshal Patel beat Jitesh Sharma behind the wicket and escaped for four.

Gaikwad’s purple patch at Chepauk continued as he scored his fourth consecutive fifty at the Den to a rousing reception before Rizvi was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada for 21 off 23 balls. Moeen Ali replaced his fallen teammate at the crease and was privy to a rousing ovation as poster boy MS Dhoni came in to bat in the final two overs of the game after Gaikwad was scalped by the quick Arshdeep Singh. Englishman Ali couldn’t put a dent in the Punjabi rain-in as Chahar bowled the southpaw for his second scalp of the day. Daryl Mitchell came in six down. The Kiwi, who scored a brilliant half-century in the last game, failed to dominate the game but Dhoni delighted the crowd with a boundary in the final over as Chennai finished with a total of 162 before the fan favorite was caught near the crease. Final delivery of the home innings.

Jonny Bairstow and Prabhasimran Singh opened the chase for the tourists but CSK had an early breakthrough as the latter was caught by skipper Gaikwad and fell to debutant Richard Gleeson. The Englishman was caught by Shivam Dubey four short of his fifty before Bairstow and Proteas batsman Riley Rossouw put on a fifty-run stand by Dhoni. The South African player helped Punjab reach triple figures in the 12th over. The 30-run partnership for the third wicket between Shashank Singh and Rossov was broken by Shardul Thakur, who faced the Proteas batsmen after scoring 43 off just 23 balls.

Sam Curran and Shashank brought the equation to 38 balls short of the required runs. The batting pair remained unbeaten and proceeded to negotiate the fixture well with caution to cap a successful run chase as Curran finished with 26, while Shashank finished with 25 from his willows.