Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won their final group game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) convincingly by five wickets – to finish at the top two of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) points table. It was an impressive all-round performance by Chennai which was the need of the hour ahead of the playoffs.
CSK needed to get back to winning ways and so they did in in style. After batting first, Punjab was restricted to only 153. It was mainly possible due to a great knock by Karun Nair.
However, Chennai chased the total down with an utmost comfort in the end despite the loss of three early wickets. It was a brilliant bowling performance by Lungisani Ngidi as he bagged the Man of the Match Award.
Now let us have a look at the player ratings for Chennai Super Kings:
Ambati Rayudu- 1/5:
Ambati Rayudu had a rare off match as only made a solitary run before being dismissed by Mohit Sharma.
However, the stylish batsman will be pretty confident ahead of the playoffs. He has had a terrific IPL and one low score shouldn’t be a factor as the tournament progresses.
Faf du Plessis- 2/5:
The South African skipper got a game after a while. He scored a fluent 14 of 15 deliveries which included three beautiful boundaries. He was eventually dismissed by Ankit Rajpoot.
Du Plessis has got enough games in the tournament so far. Unless an injury, du Plessis has to make way for Watson in the playoffs.
Suresh Raina- 4/5:
After the loss of three quick wickets, Suresh Raina was the main batsmen who needed to build a partnership and remain till the end. The southpaw looked in impressive touch and smashed yet another half-century.
Raina ended up scoring 61 of 48 deliveries and remained unbeaten which proved to be the match-winning innings in the end. He smashed four fours and a couple of sixes.
Sam Billings- 0.5/5:
Sam Billings, who was elevated up the order was dismissed in the very first delivery he faced of Ankit Rajpoot. It was a sensational delivery which breached his defence and disturbed the timbers.
Harbhajan Singh- 2/5:
The off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was also moved up the order. With the ball in hand, he conceded 13 runs in his only over.
With the bat, he could only make 19 off 22 deliveries which included a four and a six.
Deepak Chahar- 4/5:
The medium pacer Deepak Chahar bagged a wicket for only 30 runs in his four-over spell.
However, he went for a few runs in his second spell. Chahar was pushed up the batting order and he didn’t disappoint. He played a superb knock of 39 which came in only 20 deliveries.
Chahar’s innings was studded with a four with three monstrous blows over the fence.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni- 3.5/5:
The CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was at his exceptional best and remained unbeaten on 16 of seven deliveries during the chase.
Behind the stumps, he was quite effective. Even as a leader, Dhoni was at his imperious best.
Dwayne Bravo- 3/5:
The Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Bravo bagged a couple of wickets with the ball in hand.
However, he ended up giving away 39 runs. Karun Nair smashed him during the death overs which ruined his figures in the end.
Ravindra Jadeja-3/5:
Jadeja bagged the wicket of Manoj Tiwary. He bowled quite timely and bagged a wicket for 23 runs in his spell. It was a terrific spell which proved to be quite entertaining in the end.
Shardul Thakur- 3/5:
Shardul Thakur bagged a couple of wickets and was quite impressive during his spell.
He bagged the wickets of Axar Patel and Ankit Rajpoot. The pacer eventually finished with figures of two for 33 in his 3.4 overs.
Lungisani Ngidi-5/5
I rarely give full points to any player, However, the performance of Ngidi for Chennai Super Kings was quite sensational today and he deserves the full points.
Ngidi was at his exceptional best and ended up with figures of four for 10 in his allotted 4 overs. He even challenged a decision which proved to be decisive in the last few overs.
Ngidi was at his imperious best and bagged the wickets of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Ravichandran Ashwin and Andrew Tye.
