Punjab Kings' pursuit against Chennai Super Kings began on shaky ground, with wickets falling at regular intervals, hampering their scoring momentum. Despite a promising partnership between Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, PBKS struggled to find stability in their chase. Ravindra Jadeja's precision in bowling proved pivotal as Punjab Kings ultimately fell short by 28 runs, ending with a total of 139/9 while chasing CSK's 168.
Opening their chase with Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh, Punjab Kings faced early setbacks as Tushar Deshpande claimed both Bairstow and Rossouw in the same over. Prabhsimran and Shashank attempted to stabilize the innings, but Santner and Jadeja struck swiftly, dismissing them in quick succession. Punjab Kings found themselves in further trouble at 69/5 after 10 overs, with Simarjeet adding to their woes by removing Jitesh Sharma. Ravindra Jadeja continued his dominance, accounting for Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma, further denting PBKS' hopes at 79/7 by the 13th over. Harshal Patel's brief resistance was ended by Simarjeet, while Chahar fell victim to Shardul. Rabada and Brar provided some resistance in the latter overs, but Punjab Kings fell short, concluding their innings at 139/9.In the first innings, Chennai Super Kings posted a total of 167/9 in their 20 overs, with notable contributions from Gaikwad, Jadeja, and Thakur. This aligns precisely with the average first innings score at Dharamsala Stadium. Punjab Kings' bowling, spearheaded by Rahul Chahar, proved effective in restricting CSK to this total. Consequently, PBKS now face the task of chasing down 168 runs to secure victory and earn two crucial points.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, Punjab Kings invited Chennai Super Kings to bat. CSK encountered an early setback with the dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane (9) by Arshdeep Singh. Despite a solid start, reaching 60/1 at the end of the powerplay, CSK's momentum shifted when Rahul Chahar entered the attack for Punjab Kings. Chahar swiftly claimed the wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Shivam Dube (0) on consecutive deliveries. Daryl Mitchell displayed promise until he fell victim to a well-executed slower delivery by Harshal Patel, departing for 30 runs via an LBW dismissal. At the conclusion of the ninth over, CSK found themselves at 76/4. Moeen Ali's innings of 17 came to an end off Curran's bowling, leaving CSK at 101/5 after 13 overs. Subsequently, Santner departed for 11 runs, followed by Shardul Thakur (17) and Dhoni (0) falling on consecutive deliveries. Jadeja's resilient knock of 43 ended in the final over, concluding CSK's innings at 167/9.
‘Thala’ Dhoni disappoints
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni entered the field to bat, the stage was set for him to play some big shots with only 8 balls to spare. The crowd went berserk as Dhoni made his entrance. But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Dhoni got out on 0 bowled on the first ball by Harshal Patel. A disappointed Dhoni returned to pavilion with equally disappointed spectators in the ground and lakhs watching the match on their television.
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