Short Scores: Chennai Super Kings 107/4 (Moeen Ali 46, Faf du Plessis 36 *; Mohammad Shami 2/21) beat Punjab Kings 106/8 (Shahrukh Khan 47, Jhye Richardson 15; Deepak Chahar 4/13) by 6 wickets
The bowlers took the lead again in the early part of the season as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured their first victory in the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Game 8 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday.
Deepak Chahar’s remarkable four-wicket haul helped CSK limit PBKS to 106/8 before they chased the target with more than four overs to spare.
CSK started cautiously with the bat, chasing 107. Nothing to take away from the PBKS regulars – Mohammad Shami and Jhye Richardson – who were right on the money with the new ball, surrendering only eight runs in the first three overs.
Faf du Plessis then changed gear, hitting two fours and a perfectly executed scoop that went all the way for maximum, scoring 14 off the fourth over by Richardson.
Arshdeep Singh, the star of the last PBKS match, came into action and sacked the struggling Ruturaj Gaikwad, after the right-hander dug out in the depths.
Moeen Ali was the next man in, and the left-hander was right on the attack, creaming two boundaries off Riley Meredith to take CSK to 32/1 at the end of six overs.
Ali and du Plessis continued to rotate the strike without much initiative as CSK sailed past 50 in the eighth over, completely controlling the hunt.
At the halfway mark, CSK was going for touchdowns over six runs a time with Ali making the majority of the hit. The left wing came out with a positive intent as he smashed a couple of boundaries off PBKS bowling attack leader Shami.
Nothing seemed to work in PBKS’s favor after a demolition in the 12th over went all the way for four.
In the next game, Ali launched one off Murugan Ashwin, over a long run for maximum. While he was caught in the depth of the same over, he ensured the damage was done after scoring 46 off 31 balls.
Shami came in to bowl the 15th over and created some late damage to CSK after picking up two wickets in two balls, dismissing Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu respectively.
With four runs required, Sam Curran finished off the hunt in style, with a boundary and CSK chasing the total.
Earlier, CSK and PBKS kept the same XI play from their last game, with the former putting the latter into batting first on a fresh Wankhede face.
CSK was on fire with the new ball after removing the two PBKS openers.
Chahar chased Mayank Agarwal’s sticks in the very first game, hitting the top of the stall followed by Ravindra Jadeja’s superb closing effort – a direct shot – inside the ring that ran out PBKS skipper KL Rahul.
Chahar was back to bowl the fifth over and there was no stopping the right arm sailor who struck twice in the match.
Gayle initially dismissed with a beautiful ankle delivery, Jadeja taking a great diving catch, and later Nicholas Pooran got a duck, with a short ball that was hit straight to the outfield on his hind leg.
PBKS struggled at 26-4 at the end of the powerplay. While the CSK sailors were bowling tight ends from one end, the CSK skipper decided to end Chahar’s quota as the bowler scalded his fourth wicket of the pubs after Deepak Hooda, who struck one boundary, blacked it into black hands Plessis in center-off.
Shahrukh Khan, along with Richardson formed a vital partnership for the sixth wicket, adding 31 runs with the help of three fours and sixes, and managed to score some crucial runs against CSK spinners.
However, Ali put an end to the same, crashing one into Richardson’s sticks, providing CSK with the sixth wicket.
Shahrukh kept the boundaries flowing, despite wickets falling at one end and racing to 39. Dwayne Bravo out-shot Murugan Ashwin and the PBKS battled at 87-7 at the end of the 17th over.
The Punjab Kings brought up their hundred in the penultimate over bowling by Bravo, who conceded only 4 runs.
Shahrukh Khan fell just three runs short of his half-century after he attempted to smack Sam Curran for maximum, only to find Jadeja in the depths. PBKS finished with a 106-8 total, scoring just six runs in the pub final (IPL website)