Raza trumps Pathirana as Punjab Kings win last-ball thriller
Punjab Kings 201 for six (Prabhsimran 42, Livingstone 40, Deshpande 3-49, Jadeja 2-32) beat Chennai Super Kings 200 for 4 (Conway 92*, Gaikwad 37) by 4 wickets
A final-ball thriller that ended with Sikandar Raza pulling Matheesha Pathirana for 3 fast runs shocked a Chepauk crowd which will have anticipated their crew to return house with a win and get nearer to the highest of the desk. Chennai Super Kings had virtually every little thing going for them; Devon Conway walloped an unbeaten 92, MS Dhoni stretched their complete to 200 with two sixes to finish the innings, they usually strangled Kings’ chase by the center overs, however misplaced regardless of largely being forward by the ultimate over due to Pathirana’s accuracy.
With 9 to win off the final over, Raza and Shahrukh Khan could not hit a single boundary in opposition to Pathirana’s dipping deliveries. After a single, a leg bye, a dot ball and two twos off Pathirana’s yorkers and slower balls, Kings wanted three off the final ball. Raza shuffled throughout and pulled a short-of-length slower ball over sq. leg, touchdown it proper in between deep fantastic leg and deep midwicket to safe three and seal victory along with his arms aloft.
The two factors took Kings to 10 factors alongside three different groups, and to fifth place on the desk, simply behind Super Kings on internet run charge.
Livingstone turns tables on the proper time
Super Kings had been favourites when Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran struggled to attain freely off Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana. With 72 to win off 30, Livingstone obtained to face Tushar Deshpande and belted three sixes in 4 balls with 4 leg byes in between. Even although he fell off the fifth ball of the over, Kings nonetheless had Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh to return, and the 24-run over introduced their equation all the way down to 48 off 24.
Curran and Jitesh slammed straight sixes off Ravindra Jadeja within the seventeenth, however Pathirana was going to bowl two of the final three overs. He eliminated Curran’s off stump with a shocking, full supply that swerved previous his outdoors edge, and with 22 wanted off 12, Kings went after Deshpande within the nineteenth to try to guarantee they did not go away an excessive amount of for the final over. Jitesh lofted the primary ball over cowl for 4 and obtained out to a contentious determination two balls later when substitute fielder Shaik Rasheed caught him on the broad long-on boundary whereas virtually touching the boundary cushions along with his foot. With 15 required off eight, Raza edged his first ball for 4 to make it a 13-run over.
Even although Pathirana despatched down a wonderful final over, Raza manipulated the sector completely to select ones and twos and sealed the match with a hard-run three.
Boundaries rain in Kings’ powerplay, however not past
Kings got here out all weapons blazing in a steep chase. Shikhar Dhawan danced down off the second ball and went on to smash 21 off 9 balls in Akash Singh’s first two overs. Prabhsimran Singh took on Theekshana’s carrom ball on the different finish in a 12-run fourth over, and Kings raced to 46 for no loss in 4 overs.
Dhawan sliced Deshpande to brief third within the fifth over to fall for 28, however Prabhsimran saved his foot on the pedal with at the least one boundary an over earlier than being stumped off a 100kph Jadeja supply within the ninth. It was then that Kings went by a slowdown, with Atharva Taide managing simply 13 off 16 earlier than falling to Jadeja in a three-run eleventh over. Livingstone and Curran struggled to attain freely off the Sri Lankan duo, scoring simply 22 runs in overs 12 to 14, which pushed the asking charge past 12. But Livingstone quickly broke the shackles in opposition to Deshpande, and Kings had been again on monitor.
CSK make fast begin on a sluggish pitch
The Kings bowlers needed to bowl within the unforgiving Chennai warmth, they usually had been made to sweat additional by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway. Gaikwad confirmed wonderful timing whereas Conway took the aerial route extra usually, similar to when he hit Curran for back-to-back boundaries down the bottom within the sixth over, which went for 16. Super Kings, who’ve misplaced the fewest wickets in the powerplay this IPL, completed the section on 57 for 0.
Conway smashes fifty, Dube promoted to tackle spinners
Spinners had been all the time going to be in focus at Chepauk. Rahul Chahar, Kings’ lead spinner, was launched within the powerplay and the openers hit a six every off him down the bottom to push the run charge in the direction of 9. Conway additionally reeled off consecutive fours off Raza’s flat offbreaks earlier than the bowler unleashed a legbreak to have Gaikwad stumped for 37.
Super Kings promoted Dube to counter the spinners, and he additionally pulled Kagiso Rabada for six quickly after Conway reverse-swept Raza to lift a 30-ball fifty.
Conway bosses the center overs
At 121 for 1 after 13, Kings introduced again Arshdeep Singh, who struck when Dube holed out to long-on whereas making an attempt his third six. Super Kings saved sending out left-hand batters – Moeen Ali got here in subsequent – they usually saved attacking the spinners. Conway and Moeen lapped up Livingstone for a 16-run fifteenth over, and Conway hit two extra fours with sweeps off Chahar, earlier than Arshdeep and Rabada slowed issues somewhat with 11 boundary-free balls within the 18th and nineteenth overs.
The Dhoni present
Once wanting set for 200, Super Kings had been 185 with an over to go. Two hundred seemed much more distant when Jadeja fell off the primary ball of the twentieth and Dhoni managed only one off his first two balls. But as soon as Dhoni obtained the strike again, he smoked two sixes to finish the innings, an uppercut and a leg-side whack off a low full-toss from Curran. Conway stayed unbeaten on 92 off 52 with 16 fours and a six.
Vishal Dikshit is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo