Punjab Kings became the first team to successfully defend a total in seven night games in Mumbai this Indian Premier League season. Liam Livingstone’s maiden IPL half-century hauled a slowing line-up to 180, before Chennai Super Kings lost half their side to Punjab’s seamers in no time to suffer a third consecutive defeat, this time by a massive margin of 54 runs.
Swinging them out
The white ball barely moves for more than a couple of overs usually, but Punjab got it to swing throughout the Powerplay, especially debutant Vaibhav Arora from Himachal Pradesh. By the eighth over of the chase, CSK were reduced to 36 for 5.
Kagiso Rabada found just enough shape to get Ruturaj Gaikwad edging to slip. Arora, who was bending it both ways, created enough uncertainty to induce a leading edge from Robin Uthappa. The hesitation provoked in the batsmen’s minds generated fatal inside edges for Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja. After a Powerplay worth 27 for 4 compared to Punjab’s 72 for 2, along came Odean Smith to bounce one into Ambati Rayudu’s chest and force a fend to the wicketkeeper.
Shivam Dube struck 57 off 30 but with Mahendra Singh Dhoni stuck at the other end, the asking rate was always ballooning. Livingstone’s spin delivered the formal knockout blows in the 15th over, removing Dube and Dwayne Bravo in two balls.
Livingstone arrives
Livingstone has wowed the cricket world with his six-hitting prowess, which brought him Rs 11.5 crore at this year’s IPL auction. But he hadn’t exactly set the IPL on fire in his limited opportunities, until Sunday night. Walking in at 14 for 2, the Englishman continued Punjab’s ploy this season of at least one middle-order batsman going after everything. Bhanuka Rajapaksa had performed that role in their first two games, but against CSK, the Sri Lankan was run out early.
Livingstone walked down the track to his second ball to flick Chris Jordan for three. He pummelled the left-arm angle of Mukesh Choudhary for seven of his 10 boundaries. He stepped out and powered the ball over mid-off, or stood firm on off stump, cleared his front leg and walloped sixes on the legside; one of them went 108 metres, the biggest so far this season. Livingstone was dropped twice on 45, first by Rayudu at short third man off Jadeja and then by Dhoni off Dwaine Pretorius. Rayudu did pouch him off Jadeja eventually, by which time he’d moved to 60 off 32.
Punjab slow down again
Even CSK’s 210 wasn’t safe in the previous game at Brabourne Stadium. So, one couldn’t really fault Punjab for hitting regardless of losing wickets. But they’d lost steam against KKR in trying to set a huge target, and did so once again. From a Powerplay of 72 for 2, and 109 for 2 in the 10th over, they managed 180 for 8. The fall of Shikhar Dhawan and Livingstone in successive overs brought the wheels off, and Punjab scraped just 33 off the last five overs.
Jordan’s inclusion gave CSK much more depth at the death. Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith could not get the distance off Jordan’s full lengths. One factor was the relative paucity of dew, as the chemical to keep the moisture away had been sprayed a bit later. Jordan said a bit of dew began to appear only towards the end of the first innings.
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