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Live Blog - Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings - PBKS breeze to 163 target with 13 balls to spare
By Vithushan EhantharajahPunjab Kings on the rise?
Chennai Super Kings were left reeling at the Chepauk as Punjab Kings made it back-to-back wins with a comfortable seven-wicket victory that upholds their outside shot at making the play-offs. They have also become the second team to beat CSK five times in a row, sharing that honour with Mumbai Indians.
It was a far cry from the six-fest of this IPL season, or indeed PBKS’ jaw-dropping success against Kolkata Knight Riders that lifted them out of a three-game losing slump. This time, it was the Kings’ spinners that stole the limelight as they restricted CSK to 162 for 7. Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar choked the life out of the batting, taking two wickets apiece and both going boundary-less in their respective four overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 62 held together a patchy 20 overs, which bagged him the orange cap. But he probably would have swapped either the half-century or the cap, perhaps even both, for winning the toss. Sam Curran was always going to win the toss and bowl when the coin fell his way given how dew would impact the second innings on a sweltering evening in Chennai. While that did come to pass, the game was set on its destination early in the chase.
CSK were hampered early in their defence when Deepak Charar limped off after bowling the first two deliveries of the innings, leaving them a bowler short. Though Richard Gleeson marked his IPL debut with the dismissal of Prabhsimran Singh, 64 off 37 deliveries between Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Roussouw put them ahead of the rate.
Both could and perhaps should have seen their side home. Bairstow fell trying to ramp over MS Dhoni, giving Shivam Dube his first IPL wicket since 2020 with just his second delivery of 2024, while Rossouw was bowled by a low full toss from Shardul Thakur that should have gone the distance. But their blitzes, both as a partnership and when Rossouw kept going until the end of the 12th over, had the ask to a manageable 50 from 58.
With 37 needed off 37, a brace of Curran boundaries against Thakur - the first off a no ball, and another from the subsequent free hit - removed what jeopardy was left. After successfully reviewing an LBW decision that would have handed Gleeson a second wicket, Curran was able to finish unbeaten on 26, calling for the extra run from a misfield that took Shashank Singh to 25 not out and finished this match with 13 deliveries to spare.
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Punjab Kings triumph by 7 wickets
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Sam Curran takes out the sting...
Just as things were looking tetchy, with 37 needed off as many deliveries, the Punjab Kings skipper finds two fours at the end of the 14th over to settle the away team's nerves.
The first is a controlled dab beyond the keeper, and he immediately signals to the umpire to check the no ball because of an extra man in the circle. Turns out Shardul Thakur has overstepped anyway! The free hit is scythed high and into the vacant area at wide deep third.
Curran captained brilliantly in the first innings and looks set on capping that off with a useful not out to see his team home.
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A first wicket since 2020 for Shivam Dube...
And not a bad one to pocket! Bairstow looked to be picking up where he left off after his match-gulping 108* against KKR. But he's gone for 46, ramping Shivam Dube's second ball of the season through to MS Dhoni.
Dube last took an IPL wicket in 2020 and is only bowling because of the injury to Deepak Chahar. Rossouw smacks him for six over square leg, then a four through cover to take 14 from the over. But Dube has given CSK an outside shot of something here, particularly with the ball now being changed after one ball of the 11th over...
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The sincerest form of flattery...
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In a bid to imitate the first innings, CSK give the first over out of the Power Play to a left-arm spinner. But Ravindra Jadeja's first go is taken for 10 pretty comfortable runs, as Bairstow cuts off his stumps and then bludgeons across the line, comfortably beating the man stationed out at deep midwicket.
Moeen Ali does not fair much better at the other end, hoiked over the fence by Bairstow - bringing up the 50 stand for the 2nd wicket off 29 deliveries - before a mishit skews under the onrushing fielder for another boundary to the leg side.
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That maiden IPL wicket feeling
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In case you missed it...
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Who is Richard Gleeson?
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. As far as batters to dismiss on your international debut, one of those trio represents a memorable first day in the big time. But all three? Now that’s something special.
That’s what Richard Gleeson managed two years ago. A scenic route into professional cricket took him to the biggest stage - a T20 debut for England against India at Edgbaston. England lost the match, but Gleeson’s 3 for 15 - all three wickets taken in the space of eight deliveries - was an undoubted highlight for the fast bowler.
From club cricket for Blackpool, through the minor county set-up with Cumberland, and moonlighting as a coach at the Lancashire Cricket Board, a trial at Northamptonshire resulted in a first-class debut against the touring Australians in 2015. A pay-as-you-play deal with the county eventually turned into a more secure three-year deal. He moved to Lancashire at the end of the 2018 summer and will play in this season’s T20 Blast for Warwickshire after his release from Old Trafford last year.
A cricketer who played his first professional match at 27 and made his international debut at 34, is making his bow in the IPL at 36. And not a bad first over, either, beating Jonny Bairstow comprehensively before the batter gets hold of the final delivery to strike through cover...
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Can Punjab Kings chase down 163?
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Finally.. Dhoni is out!
110 Dhoni's average in this season's IPL
An attempt at a sharp second results in a run out. It's taken eight innings, but MS Dhoni finally has an average. And CSK finish on 162 for 7
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Chahar keeps his cool
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An outstanding final set from Rahul Chahar - the 19th, no less – and he finishes with 2 for 16. Four wickets and no boundaries conceded in eight overs between himself and Harpreet Brar. Quality.
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In walks the un-dismissable MS Dhoni...
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Gaikwad, bringing six-y back
A 44-ball half-century from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. He reaches his fifth fifty-plus score of the campaign heaving the first six of the innings down the ground, off the third legitimate delivery of the 16th delivery. It's a free hit, no less, after Curran's high full toss was carved through cover point.
Gaikwad finishes the 17th over - Curran's second - with another biggie into the stands at midwicket. The dew on the ground and ball, coupled with the sweat on the brows and on the palms, suggests there could be a late twist in this tale.
And now Jonny Bairstow has tipped one over the fence at long off for CSK's third six! Moeen Ali, his England T20 World Cup teammate, was the batter...
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A boundary drought
26 Runs in six overs since the Power Play
A brilliant squeeze from Brar and Chahar, not just to stem the runs but take out three of the top four. They've been stump to stump, mostly flat but occasionally allowing the odd delivery to get a little help from a surface offering turn.
You have to go back to the last ball of the sixth over for CSK's last boundary, which is more to the credit of Punjab's spin twins, even if the batters in yellow have been flat-footed and rooted to the crease.
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Cool story, Brar
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No sooner had Harpreet Brar ended CSK's highest opening stand of the season, he traps Shivam Dube LBW for a duck. Wicket-to-wicket, sharp off the surface, Dube lazy into the sweep. Leftie on leftie - match-ups be damned!
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Here come the spinners...
From 13 off 13 to 25 off 16. Three fours from Rahane off Curran make use of the last three deliveries of the sixth over, taking CSK to 55 for no loss. This is the first time this season they have not lost a wicket in the Power Play.
Harpreet Brar stitches together a smart over of left-arm spin to ease Punjab Kings into the middle order as the seventh over brings just four singles. Brar's T20 economy rate of 7.06 in the middle overs should elicit a few mistakes as CSK look to crack on. Likewise Rahul Chahar with his flat leggies.
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In at the Deep End
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There was an amusing moment before the fourth delivery of the fourth over, when Gaikwad pulled out late and Curran decided to continue on and hit the stumps with his delivery. Spider Cam was to blame for putting the batter off. But the same could be said of the lines from Punjab Kings' seamers in the first four overs.
Lengths have been sound, too, aside from the second over when Ashdeep Singh was neither here nor there and taken for 10, with two boundaries for Gaikwad. And the left-armer's under the pump again in his second over after a change of ends: Rahane blazes him over point before Gaikwad feasts on some length to punch in front and then behind of point to find 14 in the penultimate Power Play over.
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Familiar faces on both sides of the fence
This game is set to be played on pitch no. 4, a fresh one. This means one side will be shorter than the other. The conditions were dewy when both teams trained on Tuesday. So, expect dew - and toss - to be a major factor today as well.
Sam Curran, a former Super King, was greeted by a round of cheers. Daryl Mitchell caught up with PBKS coach Trevor Bayliss, who had coached him at London Spirit in the Hundred. Can't spot Shikhar Dhawan yet at PBKS training. Sikandar Raza, who had steered PBKS to a last-ball win the last time these two sides met at Chepauk, has left the IPL to link up with the Zimbabwe squad in Bangladesh.
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Toss: CSK bat first
Hot, sticky evening in store as Punjab Kings win the toss and choose to bat first. CSK's former son Sam Curran announces the visitors are going with the same team that chased down 262 with ease five days ago. Shikhar Dhawan had a chance of making his return from injury, but his absence continues.
Ruturaj Gaikwad jokes his teammates were primed to bat first given his luck with the coin. Alas, there's further misfortune for CSK with Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande ruled out. Shardul Thakur and Richard Gleeson (making his IPL debut) come in to replace them. You can find the full XIs here.
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Welcome!
Come one and all - here we are in Chennai for this showdown between CSK and Punjab Kings. Both teams arrive with tails up off the back of nourishing wins.
For CSK, a routine victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad came with enough heft to bolster their net run rate and keep them in the play-off places ahead of their opponents. Now, with their third home game in a row, they are looking to solidify their top-four status by moving up a spot with victory over a Punjab outfit who are finally out of a three-game losing funk thanks to Bairstow-inspired decimation of KKR.
Intriguing match-up in prospect here. We'll have the toss with you in about 10 minutes
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