Chennai: Fine half-centuries from skipper Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh and a hat-trick from Yuzvendra Chahal were the highlights as Punjab Kings (PBKS) secured a four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk Stadium on Wednesday.
PBKS is now at the second spot in the table with six wins, three losses and a no result, giving them 13 points. CSK is struggling at the bottom, with two wins and eight losses, giving them four points.
During the run-chase of 191 runs, PBKS openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh picked up from where they had left off during the previous match, unleashing some serious hitting.
Priyansh found some boundaries against pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kambhoj, while Prabhsimran was not very far off either. However, the quick 44-run stand between these two ended with Khaleel getting Priyansh for 23 in 15 balls, with five fours. MS Dhoni took a fine catch behind the stumps. PBKS was 44/1 in 4.4 overs.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer ended the powerplay with a fine boundary against Ravindra Jadeja, beating deep backwards square leg, bringing upthe 50-run mark in six overs, with himself (5*) and Prabhsimran (21*) unbeaten.
CSK hopes of breaching the 200-run mark were dashed by a sensational spell from Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowler Yuzvendra Chahal, who claimed his second Indian Premier League (IPL) hat-trick to help restrict the home team to 190 in 19.2 overs.
Despite a career-best 88 off 47 balls from Sam Curran against his former side, CSK faced a dramatic collapse in the death overs.
Opting to bat first, CSK’s innings had a shaky beginning as the young opening duo of Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre struggled to get going. Rasheed was the first to depart, managing just 11 off 12 balls before being removed by Arshdeep Singh with the score at 21. Mhatre followed immediately in the next over, falling to Marco Jansen for just 7, leaving the hosts at 22/2.
Ravindra Jadeja tried to stabilise the innings with a quick 17 off 12 deliveries but was dismissed by Harpreet Brar, making it 48/3. It was then that Dewald Brevis joined Curran in the middle, and the duo stitched together a much-needed 78-run partnership to resurrect the innings.
Brevis played a composed hand of 32 before being cleaned up by Azmatullah Omarzai. Curran, who had been the basher of the innings, continued to take the attack to the bowlers. His blistering knock included nine boundaries and four sixes, helping CSK recover from early setbacks. However, he was eventually dismissed by Jansen with the score reading 172/5.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni played a short but impactful cameo, scoring 11 off just 4 balls, including a boundary and a towering six, before falling to Chahal. That was the game-changing moment. Chahal, in a brilliant display of wrist spin, ran through the lower order with a stunning hat-trick–removing Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj, and Noor Ahmad in successive deliveries. His final figures of 4/32 in three overs underlined his impact.
Arshdeep returned to dismiss Shivam Dube for 6, and CSK were bowled out for 190 in 19.2 overs–falling short of a potential 200-plus total.
Brief Scores: CSK: 190 (Sam Curran 88, Dewald Brevis 32, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/32) lost to PBKS: 194/6 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 71, Prabhsimran Singh 54, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28).