IPL: Chennai beats Punjab for 28 runs at a bowlers' match

Dharamshala: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) exhibited a clinical bowling performance to defeat Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Match 53 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the HPCA Stadium here on Sunday afternoon. The bowling attack headed by Ravindra Jadeja, who took three wickets, along with Simarjeet Singh and Tushar Deshpande, both taking two wickets each, ended PBK chase at 139 for 9 in 20 overs.

After restricting CSK to 167/9, thanks to three-fers from Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel, PBKS were on course to chase down the total by reaching 62/2 in 7.5 overs. But after that, PBKS suffered a batting meltdown to be reduced to 90/8 and eventually ended up with 139/9.

Jadeja's spell of 3-20 in the middle overs turned the game on its head, while Simarjeet and Deshpande returned with figures of 2-16 and 2-35, respectively, to derail PBKS' chase. Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur also took a wicket each to ensure CSK got back into the top four of the points table.

CSK had a bright start to their defence of 168 when Deshpande castled Jonny Bairstow with a straighter delivery and followed it up by beating Rilee Rossouw for pace to knock over his stumps. Both of his dismissals came on length balls and seam movement, aiding him in making the double strike.

Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh hit eight boundaries between themselves before Santner pulled his length back a little bit to have the latter hole out to long-on. That triggered a batting implosion for PBKS as Prabhsimran holed out to extra cover off Jadeja, and Jitesh Sharma nicked behind off Impact Player Simarjeet.

Though Simarjeet dropped Ashutosh Sharma early on, he was hit twice on the body. The pressure built by CSK gave them rewards when Jadeja had Sam Curran holing out to long-on, and Ashutosh gave a catch to short third man. Simarjeet's persistence paid off when Harshal Patel miscued a pull to mid-wicket, as PBKS were reduced to 90/8.

Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar tried to delay the inevitable by hitting five boundaries collectively before Thakur hit the former's off-stump while going for a scoop. The pacer gave away just seven runs in the final over to ensure CSK got a vital win.