In an all-important clash for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), host team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) never gave them a start to finish the things in style. The smart captaincy by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the equally brilliant effort from the core unit did the trick for CSK to join Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at top of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) points table.
Meanwhile, Punjab finished seventh in the points table who were once expected to be the strong contenders for the championship.
Kings XI Punjab – Lungi Ngidi’s 4-wicket haul dents Punjab:
Initially, it was Dhoni, who won the toss and without any further considerations, asked the visitors to bat first.
Justifying the toss, on a pure greenish wicket, Lungi Ngidi used the conditions to the perfection by sending both the Punjab openers for a cheap score.
Aaron Finch too walked back to the hut in a quick succession thus drawing the curtains on a high-scoring game.
However, Manoj Tiwary and David Miller repaired the ship to get back the team on track. But, it didn’t last long as Ravindra Jadeja gets the breakthrough straightaway of his first delivery.
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The young Karun Nair walked into the crease with a lot of intent and smashed the ball right from the word go. He took Bravo to the cleaners before handing his wicket to the very same bowler.
Lungi Ngidi’s stunning death over and the lack of hitters for KXIP saw them finishing with 153 runs on the board.
The Proteas’ star, Lungi Ngidi bowled a stunning spell of four for 10 in his four overs while Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur chipped in with a couple of wickets each.
Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni’s master move floors Punjab’s heroics with the new ball
In reply to the chase, Kings XI Punjab started the things in a grand way by sending their both openers, Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis for a cheap score.
The England star youngster, Sam Billings too followed the openers to give the initial momentum for Punjab in their aim to restrict CSK under 100.
However, Dhoni once again made a masterstroke by sending Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar at top-order which changed the course of the game dramatically. Meanwhile, Raina anchored the chase from one side with his pragmatic approach.
The entrance of Harbhajan to the crease made Kings XI bowlers try new things thus leaving the good line which they bowled earlier to the top batsmen. Though Harbhajan walked back to the hut after striking a couple of boundaries, Deepak Chahar played a nice role in the middle overs.
At one stage, Chennai Super Kings seemed losing the game but Chahar came in with the crucial blows off Ashwin’s over which sealed the deal for CSK.
Once the runs were under the run-rate and Punjab bowlers were down in morale, Raina alongside Dhoni finished the innings in a flash.
Brief Scores:
KXIP – 153-all out; Karun Nair (54), Manoj Tiwary (35); Lungi Ngidi 4/10
CSK – 159/5; Suresh Raina (61), Deepak Chahar (39); Ankit Rajpoot 2/19