Chennai Super Kings returned to winning ways with a huge 28-run win over Punjab Kings in the 53rd match of IPL 2024 at Dharamsala's Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday. Ravindra Jadeja shone with both bat and ball to boost CSK to their sixth win of the season.
After being forced to bat first, Chennai batters struggled for partnerships but Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 43 runs off 26 balls to help his team post a challenging total of 167. Then returning pacer Tushar Deshpande delivered two early wickets and Jadeja claimed three for 20 to restrict Punjab to a 139/9 total in 20 overs.
A win boosted Ruturaj Gaikwad's team to third position in the points table with six wins in eleven games while Punjab Kings remain in the eighth position with eight points.
Chennai Super Kings lost the veteran opener Ajinkya Rahane early but in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell kept them on track for a big total. The duo added 57 runs for the second wicket with both players scoring 30-plus innings.
Punjab made a breakthrough with an ace spinner Rahul Chahar claiming Gaikwad's valuable wicket in the eighth over. Chahar then further stunned Chennai by removing dangerous Shivam Dube on the very next delivery.
Chennai batters struggled to find meaningful partnerships for the rest of their innings but Jadeja's impressive knock boosted them to a challenging total of 167/9 in 20 overs. Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel picked three wickets while Arshdeep Singh bagged two for the hosts.
Defending a decent total, Tushar Deshpande put Chennai in the driving seat by removing Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over. Punjab never managed to make a comeback with Chennai bowlers producing remarkable spells. However, tailenders added crucial runs to frustrate CSK bowlers and avoided getting bowled out.
Jadeja emerged as the best bowler with three wickets for 20 while pacers Tushar Deshpande and Simrajeet Singh picked two each for Chennai Super Kings.
Punjab Kings Playing XI: Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh (Prabhsimran Singh).
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (substituted by Simrajeet Singh), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Richard Gleeson, Tushar Deshpande.
