Chennai, May 1: Punjab Kings mounted a pragmatic chase to consign Chennai Super Kings to a demoralising seven-wicket defeat at their own den in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
Punjab rode on quick 40s by Jonny Bairstow (46, 30b, 7×4, 1×6) and Rilee Rossouw (43, 23b, 5×4, 2×6) to move past Chennai’s modest 162 for seven, which was built around skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s solid 62 (48b, 5×4, 2×6).
The win took PBKS to seventh place on the points table with eight points, while CSK stayed on fourth with 10 points.
The Super Kings’ defence of 163 faced multiple barricades as their spinners – Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja – were rendered ineffective because of dew and pacer Deepak Chahar walked off the field with a niggle after bowling just two balls.
But that should not take the sheen out of PBKS’ effort with the bat on the night.
After the early departure of opener Prabhsimran Singh, who played two convincing strokes, Bairstow and Rossouw kept the visitors in the hunt with a handy 64-run alliance as they also went past 50 in the Power Play segment.
Bairstow treated spinners Jadeja and Moeen with disdain taking three boundaries and a six off them. In stark contrast to their Punjab counterparts, the CSK spinners gave away 44 runs in five overs without any return.
But Bairstow’s attempt to be too cheeky ended his stay. The England batter went for a cute ramp shot off Shivam Dube, but could only manage to feather it to MS Dhoni behind the stumps.
However, Rossouw and Shashank Singh (25 not out, 26b) made 44 runs in quick time as PBKS remained ahead in the game.
Rossouw, who pummelled Dube and Thakur for a six each, had a brilliant chance to make a fifty. But his attempt to smash Thakur’s low full-toss out of ground resulted in his stumps getting rearranged.
But those were minor irritants in an otherwise polished effort as Shashank and skipper Sam Curran (26 not out, 20b) knocked off the remaining runs without much fuss during their unbroken 50-run alliance.
Earlier, Gaikwad braved a sluggish Chepauk pitch to make a solid fifty, but CSK struggled massively against Punjab spinners – Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar.
Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane (29, 24b) added 61 runs for the opening wicket but they consumed 49 balls. (PTI)
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings: 162 for 7 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 29, Ruturaj Gaikwad 62, Sameer Rizvi 21; Harpreet Brar 2/17, Rahul Chahar 2/16).
Punjab Kings: 163 for 3 in 17.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 46, Rilee Rossouw 43, Shashank Singh 25 not out, Sam Curran 26 not out).
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