CSK vs PBKS Live Score IPL 2021: Live Updates from Dubai

IPL 2021, CSK vs PBKS Live: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) Match 53, Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings (CSK vs PBKS) on indiatvnews.com.

The Chennai Super Kings are all but assured of a top-2 finish in the IPL 2021 table. However, Punjab Kings remain in dire need of a miracle, as they require a huge win over MS Dhoni's men, and then hope for favourable results from KKR and MI's matches.

LIVE UPDATES

18.45 IST: Punjab beat Chennai by six wickets

Rahul's brilliant 98* from 42 deliveries has powered Punjab to a six-wicket win over Chennai in Dubai. Punjab still have an outside chance of making it to the playoffs. The Punjab skipper hammered 7 fours and 8 sixes to make the run chase an easy one for his side.  Punjab are currently fifth on the points table with 12 points (-0.001 NRR)

18.42 IST: Rahul has also become the first Indian batter to amass 600 or more runs in consecutive IPL seasons. Rahul had earlier amassed 670 runs in 14 games during IPL 2020, played at the UAE. Overall, he is the third batsman to achieve this feat after his teammate Chris Gayle.

 

19.34 IST: SIX! Rahul on a whole different level. He whacks it over long-off for a maximum. He is in a hurry to finish things off today. Punjab have also crossed the 100-run mark at the halfway stage. 

18.20 IST: OUT! Shahrukh attempts to pull Chahar's delivery but picks out birthday boy Bravo at long-on. Rahul is still at the crease, holding the fort when Punjab is losing wickets at regular intervals. Punjab 80/3 after 9 overs. 

18.15 IST: Fifty for Rahul! The Punjab skipper reaches his 27th IPL fifty. He also inches closer to 600 IPL runs this season. It will be the third instance of Rahul breaching the 600-run mark in a single IPL season. He had finished with 670 runs last year, also picking the Orange Cap. 

18.10 IST: Rahul isn't troubled by two quick wickets for Punjab. He punishes Hazlewood's fullish delivery by driving it over mid-on. Punjab gather 51 in the first six overs, with Rahul scoring 38.

18.02 IST: OUT! Another duck for Sarfaraz. Leading edge off a cross-seam delivery and he balloons up in the air to du Plessis. Two blows for Punjab in four balls. Shahrukh joins Rahul in the middle. Punjab 46/2 in 5 overs. 

18.00 IST: WICKET! Punjab lose their first wicket. Shardul traps Mayank, who has a chat with his skipper and decides not to review it. Punjab 46/1 after 4.3 overs. 

17.56 IST: SIX! Rahul smokes Hazlewood's short delivery over the mid-wicket boundary. 15 runs off Hazlewood's over as Punjab are off to a flying start. Punjab 42/0 after 4 overs. He has also taken the Orange Cap from Du Plessis. 

17.42 IST: 11 runs off the first over bowled by Chahar. Two fours coming off Rahul's willow -- one towards extra cover and another to backward point. Rahul and Mayank will eye a brisk start in the Powerplay. 

17.13 IST:  Du Plessis (76 from 55) and Jadeja (15 not out) have helped Chennai post 134/6 on the board in 20 overs. du Plessis held the fort when the three-time champions lost five wickets in 43 runs. 

Jadeja chipped in with a 17-ball 15* cameo towards the end, helping his side put up a competitive total. On the bowling front, Arshdeep and Jordan plucked two wickets each while Bishnoi picked the prized wicket of Dhoni. Shami also dismissed du Plessis, to finish with figures of 1/22. 

17.04 IST: FIFTY! Faf du Plessis slams half-century. It has been a gritty innings from the South African, who held one end as wickets continued to fall on the other.

16.50 IST: Faf du Plessis has been holding one end but CSK need to raise the run rate now. With 86/5 in 16 overs, Chennai are currently scoring at below 6 rpo at the moment. Ravindra Jadeja has shown some attacking intent since joining Faf at the crease but Chennai require four big overs to pose a competitive total here. 

16.33 IST: WICKET! CSK captain falls! Excellent tossed-up delivery from Ravi Bishnoi. Dhoni intends to cut but finds a thick inside edge as the ball deflects onto stumps. Dhoni gone for 12, CSK 61/5 in 12 overs

16.24 IST: 10 overs gone and it has been complete domination from the Punjab Kings bowlers so far. CSK are 53/4 with Faf du Plessis holding the fort. Captain MS Dhoni has joined Faf and the duo will be aiming to rebuild the Chennai innings.

16.14 IST: WICKET! Another great catch! This time by Arshdeep! Ambati Rayudu departs for 4. Chris Jordan picks his second wicket as CSK's struggles continue. Rayudu opens the face of the bat, lofts it over the cover region but Arshdeep runs to deep backward point to take a brilliant catch. CSK 42/4 in 8.3 overs 

16:06 IST: WICKET! Robin Uthappa succumbs to a well-taken catch by Harpreet Brar! Chennai in all sorts of trouble. Uthappa pulls the short-pitched delivery in an attempt to up the ante but Brar takes an excellent diving catch. CSK 33/3 in 7 overs  

16.02 IST: Excellent start from Punjab Kings. Only 30 runs conceded in the Powerplay and two big wickets of in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali. CSK need a partnership.

16.00 IST: WICKET! Arshdeep bags another! Moeen Ali is dismissed on a six-ball duck. Caught by wicketkeeper KL Rahul. 

15.47 IST: WICKET! Ruturaj Gaikwad is dismissed. A top delivery from Arshdeep Singh and Gaikwad, in a bid to up the ante, plays an aggressive shot but mistimes. He finds a top-edge and is caught at midwicket. CSK 18/1 in 3.5 overs

15.45 IST: This has been a controlled start from the Punjab Kings bowlers. They've been bowling in the right areas, not giving the CSK batsmen much room to operate in. Only one four in three overs, as CSK make a slow start to the game. CSK 13/0 in 3 overs

15.38 IST: Gaikwad goes top among the highest run-scorers in IPL 2021 so far. 

1. Gaikwad - 529*
2. KL Rahul - 528

15.30 IST: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis open for Chennai Super Kings. Mohammed Shami bowls the first over.

15.12 IST: From 'Definitely Not' in IPL 2020 to 'Lot of uncertainties..' a year later

MS Dhoni has opened up on the possibility of playing in IPL next year: "There are a lot of uncertainties around it for the simple reason that we have two new teams coming up. We don't know the retention policy. We don't know how many foreigners, Indian players we can retain, the money cap that every player will be cutting from the kitty. So there are a lot of uncertainties. Unless the rules are in place you can't really decide that. So we will wait for it to happen and hopefully, it will be good for everyone."

15.03 IST: Playing XI

CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

PBKS: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

15.00 IST: TOSS UPDATE! Punjab Kings win toss, opt to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in Dubai

14.40 IST: We are only 20 minutes away from toss. Follow Toss Updates

14.30 IST: Head-to-Head Stats

Matches Played: 24

CSK Won: 15
PBKS Won: 8
Tie: 1

13:00 IST: Chennai Super Kings will secure a top-2 berth in the IPL 2021 table with a win over PBKS today.

Match Preview: Eyeing a top-two finish, Chennai Super Kings will be the firm favourites when they lock horns with Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team, despite two straight defeats prior to the final round-robin match, will have its nose ahead against an inconsistent Punjab outfit that is all but out of the play-offs race. FULL PREVIEW