Punjab Kings’ performance in match no. 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) was excellent bowling against the fearsome batting order of the Chennai Super Kings. At the peaceful HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday, May 5, the stage was set for an exciting first game. PBKS failed to respond with the bat for what appeared to be a reachable total, even though they held CSK to 167/9 in the opening innings.
Following their crushing win, the team improved their standing in the standings and increased their chances of making the playoffs. Against Sam Curran’s team, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team emerged victorious, winning by a total of 28 runs. At the end, PBKS lost two vital points because none of their batters could up to the challenge.
Talking Points
1. Updated and Enhanced Tushar Deshpande
The Mumbai pacer achieved success in 2023 and amassed a substantial wicket tally of 21, to be exact. Nonetheless, the bowler received harsh criticism for giving up a lot of runs at an almost ten-economy rate. For the right-arm fast, though, things have been different this season. Deshpande took two wickets in his opening over, both of which were absolute pearlers that rattled Jonny Bairstow’s and Rilee Rossouw’s stumps. During the second innings, CSK quickly took the lead thanks to the speedster’s powerplay bowling.
2. Patel’s purple patch overshadows the fabricated story of Chahar.
Ajinkya Rahane lost wicket cheaply at the start of the first innings, but CSK still managed to score sixty runs in the powerplay. Subsequently, Rahul Chahar entered the game to deliver some leg-spin, which had an immediate effect. Chahar’s first two balls forced Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain, and Shivam Dube out. Later in the evening, after completing his four-over run with 4-0-23-3, the leggie also dismissed Mitchell Santner.
Harshal Patel (4-0-24-3) was batting when he was brought on as the final bowling change, and Ravindra Jadeja had just given him one of his worst nightmares. The pacemaker didn’t give Jadeja much time to release his arms, though. Jadeja was left stranded at one end as a result, and Patel returned the polished Daryl Mitchell. The right-armer, who lit up the last over by taking two crucial wickets, sent the crowd favorite MS Dhoni (0 off 1) back for a golden duck.
Also read: Why aren’t Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana participating in the 53rd IPL 2024 match between CSK and PBKS?
3. Super Kings triumph against the Kings
In Dharamsala, CSK bowlers displayed their all-around skills, making 168 a challenging score for Punjab to meet. The early losses of Bairstow and Rossouw prevented the PBKS batters from ever looking settled at the crease. Following a helpful batsmanship, Jadeja (4-0-23-3) was at the top of his game all around, taking three wickets. Impact Substitute Simarjeet Singh also capitalized on his opportunities, taking a couple by surprise. Santner did a great job as well, controlling the economy. After being finally inserted, Shardul Thakur also claimed a wicket.
The losing skipper, Sam Curran, said:
I thought we bowled really well as a group. Rahul Chahar bowled really well, and the way Harshal Patel finished off. We were happy as a group at the half-way stage but unfortunately, it was not meant to be. We thought it (the pitch) was going to be slightly quicker, have more bounce. It was a bit slower but it was similar throughout the game. We have a couple of days off and then we play against RCB. We have to move on and keep fighting hard.
Winning skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said:
Everyone believed the wicket was slow. Even low bounce. Just that the start we got, we were thinking of pushing till 180-200. After losing wickets, thought 160-170 was a good score. Don’t know what he’s doing, but even in pre season he was clicking 150kph (on Simarjeet). He didn’t get too much chances, but it’s never too late. Were thinking of going with impact batter, but then we thought the batter will give 10-15 runs, but he could give 2-3 wickets. Some of the guys were struggling with flu. Weren’t even sure till the morning who’s playing or not. To get the win, really happy with that.
Player of the Match, Ravindra Jadeja, said:
Was a day game so the wicket was slow. It was expected to be slow because it was quite warm. Wanted to build a partnership of 30-40 so that we have a platform for the end. The bowlers bowled well. Always looks a flat wicket in powerplay. But as the ball gets older, it doesn’t come on very well. When you’re playing at a new venue, you don’t have an idea of how the pitch will be. Felt we were 15-20 short. My role is to build a partnership if we lose early wickets.
India
