Punjab Kings players in frame. Image Credit: ANI
At the Chepauk on Friday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by five wickets thanks to a superb half-century from captain Shreyas Iyer and fast hits from Cooper Connolly and Priyansh Arya.
PBKS won for the second time in a row, while CSK suffered their second defeat in the competition. Ayush Mhatre (73 in 43 balls, with six fours and five sixes), Shivam Dube (45* in 28 balls, with five fours and a six), and Sarfaraz Khan (32 in 12 balls, with six fours and a six) were among the notable batsmen for CSK, who scored 209/5. PBKS reached the target in 18.4 overs thanks to a 61-run partnership between Priyansh Arya (39 in 11 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and Prabhsimran Singh (43 in 34 balls, with six fours and a six), a fiery 22-ball 36 from Cooper Connolly with six fours, and a fifty from captain Iyer (50 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes).
Priyansh Arya hit Khaleel Ahmed for a four and a six in the first over of the 210-run chase. In the opening over, the left-armer conceded 14 runs and bowled three wides.
Priyansh began with a four, then a six, and then another four on the first three balls of Matt Henry’s second over, which leaked 20 runs. Twenty runs were scored when Prabhsimran Singh pulled the penultimate delivery for a four.
Prabhsimran persisted in his aggressive style, hitting Anshul Kamboj for three fours in an over to propel his team to 50 runs in 3.2 overs.
Priyansh hit a six over Henry’s head to open the next over, but the bowler had the last laugh, dismissing him for 39 in 11 balls with four sixes and three fours. In 4.2 overs, PBKS was 61/1.
PBKS was 68/1 at the end of the powerplay, with Cooper Connolly (0*) and Prabhsimran (25*) undefeated.
In the ninth over, Prabhsimran was dismissed for 34-ball 43 (six fours and a six) as he was rapidly approaching his fifty. In 8.5 overs, PBKS was 95/2.
Cooper helped PBKS reach 100 runs in 9.5 overs with a four over Rahul Chahar’s head. PBKS was 103/2 halfway through their inning.
Connolly, the hero of PBKS versus Gujarat Titans, was removed by Kamboj for a 22-ball 36 with six fours thanks to a brilliant catch from Henry. In 11.5 overs, PBKS was 127/3.
Shreyas Iyer, the captain, hit Chahar for two huge sixes over deep square leg and extra cover in the thirteenth over. Iyer smashed Henry for two consecutive fours to end the over at a score of 163/3, with 15 runs added, as PBKS reached the 150-run threshold in 14.1 overs.
The captain kept up his assault, hitting four boundaries and three sixes to reach his half-century in 26 balls against Chahar and Kamboj. But at the conclusion of the 17th over, Kamboj hit Iyer for a 50 off 29 balls, including three sixes and four boundaries. PBKS was 186/4.
In 18.1 overs, PBKS reached 200 runs, losing Nehal Wadhera for a 10 off nine balls. Marcus Stoinis (9*) and Shashank Singh (14*) were unbeaten as PBKS finished the chase at 201/5 in 18.4 overs.
Among the CSK wickets were Kamboj (2/43) and Henry (2/50).
Ayush Mhatre’s incredible half-century with cameos from Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube helped CSK score a massive 209 runs over Punjab Kings (PBKS).
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team was asked to bat first, but after scoring just seven runs, Sanju Samson was caught behind on a delivery from Xavier Bartlett in the second over, costing them their first wicket. In two overs, CSK was 14/1.
When Ayush Mhatre came in to bat, he and his captain accumulated 96 runs for the second wicket. With four boundaries and four sixes, he reached his first half-century of the year in just 29 deliveries.
After laboring to make 28 off 22 balls with a couple of fours, captain Gaikwad failed to convert a strong start and holed out to Nehal Wadhera on Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery, ending the 96-run partnership. In 11.1 overs, CSK was 110/2.
Mhatre soon followed, giving Vijaykumar Vyshak a wicket and Yuzi Chahal an easy catch. In 12.3 overs, CSK was 123/3. CSK was suddenly reduced to 130/4 in 13.4 overs after Kartik Sharma, the Rs 14.20 crore big buy, fell for just one run to pacer Marco Jansen, continuing his dismal IPL start.
Sarfaraz Khan used six fours and a six to quickly reach 32 off just 12 balls. He scored a hat-trick of fours against Arshdeep Singh and Vyshak in a spectacular counterattack, but Nehal Wadhera caught him as Vyshak’s second victim. In 16.5 overs, CSK was 168/5.
With two fours against Xavier Bartlett in the 19th over, three fours against Arshdeep in the last over, and a massive six against Jansen in the 18th over, Shivam Dube changed course towards the finish and scored an undefeated 45* in 28 balls, including five fours and a six. As the five-time champions amassed a massive total of 209 runs, Prashant Veer also remained undefeated on six runs.
With bowling stats of 2/38, Vijaykumar Vyshak was the Kings’ top bowler. Bartlett, Jansen, and Chahal each took one wicket.
Brief Scores: CSK: 209/5 (Ayush Mhatre 73, Shivam Dube 45*, Vijaykumar Vyshak 2/38) lost to PBKS: 210/5 in 18.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 50, Prabhsimran Singh 43, Anshul Kamboj 2/43).
(With ANI Inputs)
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
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