TATA IPL 2024: CSK Bowlers Excel, Lead Team to 3rd with 28-Run Win Over PBKS
Chennai Super Kings surged to third place in the points table following a commanding bowling display spearheaded by Ravindra Jadeja's three wickets. Simarjeet Singh and Tushar Deshpande also made significant contributions with two wickets each as they secured a 28-run victory over Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium.
Despite limiting CSK to 167/9, courtesy of three-wicket hauls from Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel, PBKS seemed poised for victory as they reached 62/2 within 7.5 overs while chasing. However, their batting collapsed dramatically thereafter, plummeting to 90/8 before settling for a final total of 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 defense 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 to make 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.
Despite Ashutosh Sharma being given a reprieve early in his innings, he endured being struck twice on the body by Simarjeet. The mounting pressure applied by CSK eventually yielded dividends, with Jadeja dismissing Sam Curran with a catch at long-on and Ashutosh falling to a catch at short third man. Simarjeet's relentless efforts bore fruit when Harshal Patel mistimed a pull shot to mid-wicket, resulting in PBKS crumbling to 90/8.
Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar attempted to prolong the outcome by collectively striking five boundaries. However, Thakur ended Chahar's resistance by disturbing his off-stump while he attempted a scoop shot. The pacer conceded only seven runs in the final over, securing a crucial victory for CSK.
