Arya, Shreyas make it four in a row at Chepauk for PBKS
In a nutshell
Having arrived home on the back of a morale-sapping defeat in Guwahati, Chennai Super Kings turned up a lot better with the bat. Yet, they left a few runs out in the middle and a score of 209 did not prove enough with Punjab Kings blowing their bowlers away to record a fourth consecutive win at Chepauk to surge to the top of the table.
The match in phases
| Phase | CSK | PBKS | RR (CSK/PBKS) | 4s/6s (CSK-PBKS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powerplay | 57/1 | 68/1 | 9.5/11.33 | 7/1 - 8/4 |
| Middle overs | 88/3 | 95/2 | 9.77/10.55 | 5/4 - 8/4 |
| Death overs | 64/1 | 47/2 | 12.8/12.82 | 9/2 - 7/1 |
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 209/5 in 20 overs (Ayush Mhatre 73 (43), Shivam Dube 45* (27), Sarfaraz Khan 32 (12), Vijaykumar Vyshak 2-38) lost to Punjab Kings 210/5 in 18.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 50 (29), Priyansh Arya 39 (11), Cooper Connolly 36 (22)) by 5 wickets
Who won PBKS the match?
Look no further than that Priyansh Arya blitz. The southpaw, who slammed a hundred against this very opposition last year, took a liking to them once again as 34 runs came off the first two overs. His opening partner, Prabhsimran Singh, played and missed far too often, but Arya's 11-ball 39 saw PBKS rocket to 50 in just 3.2 overs and not once did the Kings find themselves behind the eight-ball.
It is also worth mentioning the phase between overs 10 and 14 of the CSK innings where they tallied just 36 runs for three wickets, as Vijaykumar Vyshak and Yuzvendra Chahal combined to apply a choke and deny them useful runs.
How did CSK get to 209?
Largely thanks to Ayush Mhatre's stunning 73 which turned the Powerplay into a fruitful one after the early departure of Sanju Samson. Ruturaj Gaikwad was happy to hand Mhatre the strike, with the 18-year old sensation not backing away from playing his shots. CSK did experience a slump in the middle phase when Gaikwad and Mhatre fell in successive overs and Kartik Sharma too fell cheaply. But Sarfaraz Khan injected momentum into the innings with a breezy 12-ball 32, post which Shivam Dube added the finishing touches. PBKS played their part with a host of wides again, while an excruciatingly slow over-rate meant that they had to bring an extra fielder up after the 18th over.
Who else fired for PBKS apart from Arya?
Prabhsimran scored 42, although it was not to be without his share of luck. Almost poetically, his stay ended in a run out but Cooper Connolly assessed the conditions beautifully before picking up pace, keeping the momentum going through the middle-overs. Following his wicket, skipper Shreyas Iyer clubbed Rahul Chahar for a couple of sixes before cantering to a 26-ball fifty to put the chase beyond doubt. This marked PBKS' fourth successive victory at Chepauk, while also taking their overall head-to-head record to a favourable 17-16 over the Super Kings.
What happened to Sanju Samson?
Samson's first game as a Super King at Chepauk did not go according to plan. He was beaten by the away-swinging delivery on a couple of occasions while he didn't help his cause by backing away and exposing his stumps to try and free his arms. Having done so off a Xavier Bartlett delivery, he tried driving a length ball on middle stump, only to edge behind. With scores of 6 and 7, it has been a slow start to the season for the Player of the Tournament of the T20 World Cup.
What's next for the two teams?
CSK stay south and run into defending champions RCB in Bengaluru on Sunday (April 5). PBKS make the trip to Kolkata for a second successive away fixture as they face a wounded Knight Riders on Monday (April 6).
