Twitter Reactions: Deepak Chahar shines in the CSK's dominant victory over Punjab Kings

A dull and one-sided encounter was slightly lit up towards the end by Mohammed Shami, who sent back Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu on consecutive deliveries.

By Pratyay Tiwari

Updated - 16 Apr 2021, 22:49 IST

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4 Min Read

No Lungi Ngidi? No Jason Behrendorff? No problem said Deepak Chahar as he spit fire in the Super Kings’ trouncing the Punjab Kings by 6 wickets. CSK had the wood over the Punjab Kings in the recent past, winning six times in the previous eight meetings, and they added one more to the tally courtesy of what was a sensational performance by the bowlers.

After MS Dhoni won the toss in his 200th game for CSK, answers were nowhere to be found for the Punjab kings, who were shell-shocked by Chahar’s fierce four-over burst immediately after they were inserted. Chahar seemed in a complete rush ever since he got the white Kookaburra on a slightly greenish top at Wankhede as he castled Mayank Agarwal for a duck with a peach, pitching the ball on the middle-stump before it shaped away marginally to knock the top of the off-stump.

Chris Gayle’s edge flew over the slips in his next over, where Chahar conceded a couple of boundaries, but the roaring mood that he was in, a wicket always seemed on the cards. And not one but two came in a jiffy: Gayle, slightly early into his shot, deposited him straight into a diving Ravindra Jadeja’s hands, and Nicholas Pooran holed out to Shardul Thakur at deep backward square to record consecutive ducks.

Shahrukh pushes Kings past 100 after Chahar’s fiery spell 

Squeezed in between these dismissals was a blunder by the Punjab skipper KL Rahul, whose audacity to take on Jadeja’s arm proved fatal as the latter’s rocket throw caught him short of his ground. Given his red-hot rhythm, Dhoni decided to bowl out Chahar, giving him a fourth over on the trot, and the pacer did not disappoint, getting the destructive Deepak Hooda caught inside the ring in a wicket-maiden to finish with incredible figures of 4/13.

Trying to drive his team out of embarrassment, Shahrukh Khan got involved in a couple of thirty-run stands. Jhye Richardson, who scored a sedate 15, stuck around for a while, although Moeen Ali cleaned him up in the 13th over to break the stand. Khan sent Ali over midwicket for a six, followed by a boundary off Shardul Thakur to take Punjab into the 80s, however, his partner Murugan Ashwin did not stay for too long, picking out Faf du Plessis off Dwayne Bravo.

Shahrukh’s resistance came to an end in the final over as he miscued a slower delivery from Sam Curran into the safest hands of Jadeja, guarding at deep midwicket. He missed a deserving half-century by just three, though his 36-ball 47 pushed Punjab past 100.

Moeen Ali, Faf du Plessis keep CSK steady in the chase

Having all the time in the world to chase, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis took CSK to a sedate start. With only 8 runs scored in the first three overs, du Plessis took the attack to Jhye Richardson, smoking him for a couple of boundaries and a six to score 14 from the fourth over. Struggling for momentum at the other end, Gaikwad tried to pull Arshdeep Singh, only to find Deepak Hooda in the deep, as CSK’s first wicket went down.

Getting into his elements quickly, Moeen Ali pierced gaps off Riley Meredith to get going with two fours straightaway. He picked more off Arshdeep and Shami, as they gave him some width to pounce on and the southpaw did not miss. Driving gloriously with ease was his partner, Faf du Plessis, who struck Richardson through the covers immediately after Nicholas Pooran gifted four overthrows.

A hiccup before getting home

Ali, who enjoyed his time against Ashwin, belted him for another maximum over long-on, but the bowler had his revenge a couple of balls later as Ali slogged him straight to Shahrukh Khan at deep midwicket. The 66-run second-wicket stand had left only 17 runs for CSK to cross the line. However, a dull and one-sided encounter was slightly lit up towards the end by Mohammad Shami, who sent back Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu on consecutive deliveries before Sam Curran sealed a 6-wicket win with 26 balls to spare.

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