Punjab Kings Outplay CSK in Clinical Chase at Chepauk

In their IPL match here on Wednesday, Punjab Kings mounted a practical chase to condemn Chennai Super Kings to a demoralising seven-wicket loss.

Punjab Kings overcame CSK's modest 162 for seven, which was based on captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's 62 (48b, 5x4, 2x6), with to fast 40s from Jonny Bairstow (46, 30b, 7x4, 1x6) and Rilee Rossouw (43, 23b, 5x4, 2x6).

With eight points after the victory, Punjab Kings moved up to seventh position on the standings, while CSK maintained their fourth-place standing of ten points.

Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja, CSK's spinners, were rendered ineffectual by the dew, and pacer Deepak Chahar left the field with a niggle after bowling only two balls, leaving the team's 163 against numerous obstacles.

However, that shouldn't detract from Punjab King's outstanding batting performance that evening.

Bairstow and Rossouw kept the visitors in the hunt with a solid 64-run partnership after opener Prabhsimran Singh, who played two convincing strokes, left the game early. They also went above 50 in the PowerPlay period.

Bairstow took three boundaries and a six off spinners Jadeja and Moeen, treating them with contempt. The CSK spinners, in sharp contrast to their Punjab Kings counterparts, conceded 44 runs in five overs with no bounce back.

However, Bairstow's too naughty attempt put an end to his visit. The English batsman attempted a lovely ramp shot off Shivam Dube, but all he could do was toss it behind the stumps to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

However, Punjab Kings maintained their lead in the game because to quick 44-run bursts from Rossouw and Shashank Singh (25 not out, 26b).

With Dube and Thakur hammering him for sixes apiece, Rossouw had a great opportunity to reach fifty. However, his attempts to force Thakur's low full-toss out of the ground caused his stumps to move.

However, those were small annoyances in an otherwise well-executed performance, as Shashank and captain Sam Curran (26 not out, 20b) easily scored the final runs during their uninterrupted 50-run partnership.

Ruturaj Gaikwad earlier made a decent fifty runs despite a slow Chepauk pitch and accurate Punjab Kings spinners, but CSK could only muster a respectable 162 for seven.

They were assigned to bat first, and opener Ajinkya Rahane (29, 24b) and captain Gaikwad (62, 48b, 5x4, 2x6) combined to add 61 runs for the first wicket off of 49 balls.

But there were signs of intent in their partnership.

Rahane hit three consecutive fours off Sam Curran, including a gorgeous cover drive, while Gaikwad played a neat upper cut off Arshdeep Singh for a boundary over the slips.

However, they were too few and far between to have much of an effect. After the PowerPlay that produced 55 runs without a loss, Punjab Kings brought on their spinners, and that's when CSK's decline started.

Rahane attempted to slog sweep Harpreet Brar, but Rilee Rossouw caught his skier in the deep.

However, on the subsequent delivery, the left-arm spinner delivered a more potent hit by trapping Shivam Dube's leg earlier.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.