Kings on the rise
Dharamsala, May 5
Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated a masterclass all-round show as Chennai Super Kings regained their winning touch with a comprehensive 28-run win over Punjab Kings in a low-scoring IPL fixture.
Wily leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (3/23) and seamer Harshal Patel (3/24) put up a spirited show but Jadeja made a crucial 43 that came off just 26 balls to prop CSK to a par 167/9 after they were sent in to bat by Sam Curran.
The left-arm spinner then returned to grab 3/20 in four overs in the crucial middle-over phase to derail PBKS’ chase, which ended at 139/9. Comeback pacer Tushar Deshpande (2/35) and impact sub Simarjeet Singh (2/16) also featured among the wickets. Mitchell Santner, who was playing his first match of the season, was brilliant during his tidy 1/10 from three overs.
Eyeing to secure a sixth successive win over CSK in the IPL, PBKS found themselves at 78/7 against Jadeja’s match-turning spell.
Having lost three of their last four matches, the five-time champions CSK thus returned to winning ways and jumped to third place in the standings.
Kiwi left-arm spinner Santner set it up early for CSK. Bowling with the new ball, he gave away just four runs from his two overs. He also returned to take the key wicket of Shashank Singh (27 off 20 balls) against the run of play. Deshpande inflicted a twin blow, cleaning up Jonny Bairstow (7) and Rilee Rossouw (0) in three balls.
PBKS found some rhythm going as Prabhsimran Singh and the in-form Shashank took the attack to the CSK bowlers and collected 31 runs to end the powerplay on a high. Cruising in top gear at 62/2, PBKS went on to lose half of their side in 9.4 overs.
Earlier, at 60/1 in the powerplay, CSK were going great guns with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell in the middle during an entertaining 57-run partnership when Chahar triggered a collapse taking two wickets in two balls. CSK lost three wickets in 11 balls.
“It was a day game, so the wicket was slow. It was expected because it was so hot. My role as a batter is to build partnerships and then play the big shots towards the end,” said Jadeja, who was named the Player of the Match. — PTI
Brief scores
CSK: 167/9 in 20 overs (Jadeja 43; Chahar 3/23, Harshal 3/24) vs PBKS: 139/9 in 20 overs (Prabhsimran 30; Jadeja 3/20)
KKR: 235/6 in 20 overs (Narine 81; Naveen 3/49) vs LSG: 137 all out in 16.1 overs (Stoinis 36; Harshit 3/24, Chakravarthy 3/30)
Saturday’s result
GT: 147 all out in 19.3 overs (Shahrukh 37; Dayal 2/21, Vyshak 2/23, Siraj 2/29) vs RCB: 152/6 in 13.4 overs (du Plessis 64, Kohli 42; Little 4/45)
