PBKS moved above defending champions MI on the points table to fifth place, as they won the match in under 14 overs.
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KL Rahul showed all of his class on Thursday as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) breezed past the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). PBKS moved above defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on the points table to fifth place as they won the match in under 14 overs, massively improving their net run rate. However, the IPL this year is over for Rahul’s men as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who are in the final play-off place at the moment, have a much stronger net run rate. Even then, the victory is an impressive one and the men in red will be happy that they ended their campaign on a positive note. CSK had made 134-6 in 20 overs and PBKS scored 139-4 in 13 overs.
Rahul played a proper skipper’s knock as he scored an unbeaten 98. He played with intent from the first ball and smashed the CSK bowlers all around the park. It was only fitting that Rahul finished the match with a massive six. The PBKS skipper remained unbeaten on an incredible 98 off just 42 deliveries. It was a knock that included seven boundaries and eight sixes. His knock was more than enough to ensure that PBKS recorded a comfortable victory against the former IPL champions.
No one else in the PBKS lineup made a big score, and they did not need to. Opener Mayank Agarwal made 12 runs off 12 deliveries. Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed for a duck while Shahrukh Khan made eight off 10 deliveries. South African batter Aiden Markram scored 13 off eight balls while Moises Henriques remained unbeaten on three.
The CSK bowling unit might not have been able to halt the PBKS skipper’s barrage, but Shardul Thakur still had a pretty impressive performance. He bagged three wickets for 28 runs in three overs. Deepak Chahar also picked a wicket but conceded 48 runs in four overs.
South African batter Faf du Plessis played an outstanding knock for CSK in the first innings. The opener used all of his experience to play a steady knock at a time when the Super Kings were losing wickets at regular intervals and failing to get bat on ball. Some may have found it frustrating, but it was critical that he stayed in the middle until the end of the game. It was a risk that paid off, as the South African scored 76 off 55 deliveries. He stepped on the gas near the end of the innings, which helped CSK surpass a score of more than 130.
Ravindra Jadeja may not have scored many runs, but his contribution to Du Plessis’ knock cannot be overstated. The all-rounder scored 15 runs off 17 deliveries, but it was his consistency in the middle that finally allowed Du Plessis to be aggressive. Unfortunately, the rest of the CSK batting card paints a bleak picture. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the in-form opener, scored 12 runs off 14 deliveries, while skipper MS Dhoni scored 12 runs off 15 deliveries. No one else reached double digits for the men in yellow.
The bowling performance for PBKS was simply outstanding. Arshdeep Singh was back in the spotlight after picking up a couple of wickets and conceding 35 runs in four overs. Chris Jordan, an England pacer, also took two wickets in three overs for 20 runs. Mohammad Shami and Ravi Bishnoi each took one wicket, with the former taking the crucial wicket of Du Plessis.
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