IPL 2021: Lungi Ngidi, Jason Behrendorff unavailable for CSK’s second game against Punjab Kings

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won’t be having the services of fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Jason Behrendorff in their second match of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday, April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MS Dhoni and Co didn’t make an auspicious start to the ongoing edition, losing to Delhi Capitals (DC) by seven wickets.

After being asked to bat first by the Rishabh Pant-captained Capitals, CSK managed 188 runs for seven wickets. Suresh Raina guided their ship with a half-century on a comeback after his team lost the early wickets of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Some lusty blows from Sam Curran at the death made sure that the Super Kings posted a competitive score on the board.

DC chased the target down with eight balls left after quickfire fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Among the CSK pacers, Shardul Thakur picked up two wickets, but he went for 53 runs in 3.4 overs at an economy rate of 14.50. Dwayne Bravo picked up the other wicket, getting rid of Shaw, though it came at a stage when Pant and Co, well and truly, were dominating.

Jason Behrendorff replaced Josh Hazlewood

As far as Lungi and Behrendorff are concerned, Stephen Fleming, the CSK head coach, shared the development in the post-match press conference, reported by The Hindu. Ngidi is currently serving his quarantine period after returning midway from South Africa’s three-match ODI series against Pakistan. As far as Behrendorff is concerned, he replaced Australia’s, Josh Hazlewood.

Stephen Fleming confirms Lungi Ngidi and Jason Behrendorff won't be available for #CSK's next game @sportstarweb @TheHinduSports

— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) April 10, 2021

Behrendorff, earlier, played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) back in the 2019 IPL. The left-armer also showed his class in the 2020-21 Big Bash League (BBL), taking his team, Perth Scorchers, to the final where they lost to Sydney Sixers. In the tournament, he picked up 16 wickets from as many matches. The speedster came into the picture only a couple of days before CSK’s opening game.

Earlier, Hazlewood said that he wanted to spend some time away from bio-security bubbles and keep himself afresh, both physically and mentally, for upcoming international assignments. “It’s been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months,” he stated.