Prabhsimran Singh (42, 24b, 4x4, 2x6) and Liam Livingstone’s (40, 24b, 1x4, 4x6) big hitting at either end of the innings helped Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by four wickets off the last ball in a nail-biting contest at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
With nine runs required, Matheesha Pathirana bowled a near-perfect last over, nailing his yorkers without conceding a boundary. However, Sikandar Raza held his nerve enough by running two braces and a three off the final delivery to give his side its fifth win.
Chasing 201 for victory, PBKS got off to a flyer with Prabhsimran and skipper Shikhar Dhawan adding 50 in just 4.2 overs before the latter got out.
From 81 for one in the ninth over, Super Kings pulled things back when Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets. The Punjab side was in a tricky situation at 129 for three after 15 overs, but the match changed when Livingstone launched Tushar Desphande for three huge sixes in the 16th over.
Deshpande conceded 24 in the 16th over and 13 more in the 19th as PBKS scored 72 off the last five overs to post a memorable win.
Earlier, Devon Conway continued his dream run as he slammed an unbeaten 92 (52b, 16x4, 1x6)—his fifth half-century this season—to help the Super Kings post 200 for four.
Electing to bat, Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad got the home team off to a blazing start, adding 86 runs for the opening wicket.
The flip of the coin favoured CSK captain MS Dhoni. His counterpart Shikhar Dhawan was asked to field first. “We would have loved to bat first (as well). It is a day game and a dry wicket. There won’t be any dew,” Dhawan said later.
Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad got Chennai Super Kings off to a flying start once again. The duo put on 86 runs before Gaikwad departed off Sikandar Raza’s bowling.
Rahul Chahar of Punjab Kings thanks the heavens after sending back Moeen Ali. In nine matches, this was Chahar’s third wicket.
Devon Conway stayed unbeaten through the innings. He surpassed his previous best score of 87 in the IPL to put on 92 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, ‘Thala’ Dhoni came to the crease in the last over, entertained the crowd with two back-to-back sixes and became the second batter to hit 1000 runs in the 20th over of T20s.
During the chase, Tushar Deshpande took three wickets to climb atop the Purple Cap leaderboard. However, he had given away a whopping 49 runs. This isn’t a new trend. His economy - 11.00 - is the worst among the top 70 bowlers this season!
The Punjab Kings batters paced themselves well during the chase and never let the required run-rate climb to extreme proportions. Prabhsimran Singh (42, 24b) and Liam Livingstone (40, 24b, in picture) were the best batters.
Although the match trickled down to the very last ball of the innings, Punjab Kings had managed to become the fifth team to accumulate 10-plus points.
The left-handed opener started with two boundaries off Kagiso Rabada and then took on Sam Curran, hitting the left-arm pacer over mid-on for two consecutive boundaries.
After Gaikwad was stumped off Sikandar Raza’s bowling, Shivam Dube chipped in with a cameo of 28 (17b, 1x4, 2x6). Conway was outstanding against the spinners at the other end, using his feet to hit through the off-side. The Kiwi opener got to his fifty in style with a reverse sweep off Raza.
But in the last five overs, the Kings’ bowling attack did well as Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja struggled to find the boundaries and the Super Kings left runs on the table.
Much to the delight of the fans, M.S. Dhoni finished the innings in style when he hit Curran for two sixes over deep point and midwicket to get the home team to 200, but it was not enough on the day.
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