CSK vs PBKS at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai witnessed Liam Livingstone justifying his price tag for Punjab Kings by scoring 60 runs and taking 2 wickets in the match to help Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by 54 runs.
Punjab posted 180/8 on the board in 20 overs on the back of Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma’s blazing knock. In reply, CSK could only manage a paltry 126 before being bowled out by the opposition.
At the Toss:
CSK, for the first time, won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ravindra Jadeja announced that they have brought in Chris Jordan in place of Tushar Deshpande in the playing XI. On the other hand, Punjab had made two changes to its side in CSK vs PBKS clash. Mayank Agarwal revealed that Harpreet Brar and Raja Bawa missed out, and Jitesh Sharma and Vaibhav Arora replaced them.
PBKS Innings:
Mayank Agarwal, the captain for Punjab Kings, departed on the second ball of the match when he failed to keep a cover drive along the ground. Bhanuka Rajapaksa soon followed his skipper in the dugout due to a horrible mix up between Shikhar Dhawan and him while running between the wickets.
CSK looked on top with 2 wickets on just 14 runs, but Liam Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan ruined the party for Jadeja and co. The duo formed a 95 run partnership for the 3rd wicket to put Punjab back on track in the CSK vs PBKS encounter.
Shikhar Dhawan played second fiddle in the partnership due to Livingstone’s astounding hitting against the CSK bowlers. Dhawan scored 34 off 24 while Livingstone managed 60 off 32, including 5 sixes and 5 fours. However, both of them departed in quick succession, which helped CSK to put a curb on the scoring rate.
The young Jitesh Sharma playing in his debut match, impressed everyone with his hitting ability as he played an enterprising knock of 26 off 17, consisting of 3 massive sixes. Dwaine Pretorius and Chris Jordan picked two wickets each, and Punjab finished on 180/8 in 20 overs, around 20 runs short from what they would have wanted at the halfway stage of their innings.
CSK Innings:
Chasing 181, CSK needed partnerships at the top to cross the finish line. However, Punjab pacers reduced them to 36-5 in 7.3 overs with some good line and length inducing false shots. Vaibhav Arora, the debutant, in particular, was very impressive with his ability to move the ball both ways flawlessly. He picked up 2 crucial wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali.
With 5 wickets down, CSK had an insurmountable task in their hands. Nevertheless, Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni showed some fighting spirit to construct a 62 run stand for the 6th wicket. Dube played a fine knock of 57 off 30, including 6 fours and 3 sixes. Livingstone, the man with the golden arm in CSK vs PBKS encounter, removed Shivam Dube to extinguish the hopes of Chennai Super Kings.
Unfortunately, MS Dhoni nicked one straying on the leg side to be sent back to the dressing room. PBKS wrapped up CSK on 126 in 18 overs to ultimately win the CSK vs PBKS battle by 54 runs.
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