6 min readChennaiMay 2, 2024 11:35 AM IST
First published on: May 2, 2024 at 12:19 AM IST
SYNOPSIS: After getting a pitch to their liking at Chepauk, Chennai Super Kings slip against Punjab Kings, lose by seven wickets.
Fortress breached again
Punjab Kings are making this a habit. For the second successive season, they aced Chennai in the chase, this time pulling off a comprehensive win on a challenging surface. They have now won five matches in a row against Chennai dating back to 2021.
Having played on similar two-paced pitches at Mullanpur, Punjab found the conditions totally to their liking. With just 163 to chase, all it needed was a couple of good contributions from the top order to set the tone. And despite Prabhsimran Singh departing after hitting a boundary and a six in his 10-ball stay, Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw injected the impetus that Punjab sought. Apart from providing stability, they ensured pressure was firmly on Chennai at all times, more so after they lost Deepak Chahar, who limped off after bowling just two deliveries.
Having already used the Impact Sub with the bat, Chennai were a bowler short. For them to stay in the game and bring their spinners into the equation, they needed wickets in the Powerplay. But Bairstow and Rossouw didn’t give an inch for a Chennai comeback. With dew making it even more difficult – the two-paced nature giving way to the ball quickening off the pitch – Chennai’s attack struggled without Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana. Their only hope was Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, but the two returned wicketless in their seven overs. Though Bairstow and Rossouw fell in their 40s, Shashank Singh and Sam Curran saw Punjab Kings home.
The intent goes missing
With every passing home match, the road ahead is beginning to get challenging for Chennai. Just a day after their head coach Stephen Fleming pleaded to have a larger influence in pitch preparation, they stumbled on a track that was a throwback to the old days of home dominance, when spinners found purchase.
However, their batsmen failed to show the intent required on the surface. As Ruturaj Gaikwad ended up losing another toss – the ninth this season – Chennai knew their job was only going to get harder, especially with dew expected. Though it hasn’t been a big influence at other venues this season, it has been a complete contrast at Chepauk. CSK had already suffered because of it against Lucknow Super Giants a week ago and after successfully overcoming it against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, they slipped against Punjab.
This wasn’t a case of the conditions changing drastically in the second half of the innings. As early as the fourth over of Chennai’s innings, there was already considerable dew on the outfield. This should have woken them up. However, openers Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane went into a shell and only came out of it in the final two overs of the Powerplay, which took Chennai to 55/0.
Strangle by spin
Rahul Chahar of Punjab Kings celebrates the wicket of Moeen Ali of Chennai Superkings during match 49 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on the 1st May 2024. (Photo by Ron Gaunt / Sportzpics for IPL)
Three successive boundaries by Rahane offered a window of hope for Chennai. But little did they know that they would go 55 deliveries without a boundary off the bat as Punjab’s spinners strangled Chennai. Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who was dropped for earlier matches, made the most out of the conditions. Attacking the stumps, they varied their pace and trajectory, as they bowled seven straight overs, conceding just 30 runs and accounting for the wickets of Rahane (22), Shivam Dube (0) and Ravindra Jadeja (2) as Chennai were caught napping at their own game. And the contest was settled in one match-up. Chennai needed Dube to take care of the spinners, but he was dismissed off the second ball he faced.The two spinners didn’t concede a boundary in their entire quota. Rahul had figures of 4-0-16-2, while Brar ended with 4-0-17-2.
Despite watching spinners taking control, Chennai chose to send Jadeja at No.4, a batsman who doesn’t have a favourable match-up against them. Three quick wickets and Chennai used their Impact Sub – Sameer Rizvi – in the 10th over with the run rate at 7.1. From there on, for Chennai to be in the game, they needed an extraordinary effort, but the harder they tried, the more they struggled.
And having watched their spinners succeed, even Punjab Kings pacers were now beginning to take pace off the ball. It didn’t matter that the boundary size was short on one side of a fresh pitch – used for the first time this season. Chennai’s batting struggled to find fluency. Barring Moeen Ali, who made 15 off 9 deliveries coming in at No.6, the rest who got starts went at a strike rate less than 130. It meant Chennai managed only 162/7, at least 30 runs short of a par score.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 162/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 62; Rahul Chahar 2/16, Harpreet Brar 2/17) lost to Punjab Kings 163/3 in 17.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 46, Rilee Rossouw 43) by 7 wickets
Harpreet Brar in action against CSK, (right) Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw. (PTI/Sportzpics) 
Rahul Chahar of Punjab Kings celebrates the wicket of Moeen Ali of Chennai Superkings during match 49 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on the 1st May 2024. (Photo by Ron Gaunt / Sportzpics for IPL)
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