Mumbai: Riding on a fine half century by Shikhar Dhawan (88, 59b, 9×4, 2×6) and some fine death bowling by Kagiso Rabada (2/23) and Arshdeep Singh (1/23), Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 11 runs in their IPL encounter at the Wankhede Stadium here Monday. PBKS posted 187 for four and then restricted the opposition to 176 for six wickets to win the battle of the Kings. It was the fourth win for the Punjab side and couldn’t have come at a more than crucial juncture.
Except for the time when Ambati Rayudu (78, 39b, 7×4, 6×6) launched a serious assault on the opposition bowlers, PBKS were always in control of the game. Rayudu gave CSK a faint hope when he hit Sandeep Sharma for three sixes and a four in the 17th over of the innings. However, once Rabada castled Rayudu, the match was as good as over.
Earlier Dhawan played a brilliant knock to power PBKS to a total above 180. The 36-year-old left-handed batter anchored the Punjab innings and combined with Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa (42, 32b, 2×4, 2×6) for a 110-run stand for the second wicket from 11.3 overs after captain Mayank Agarwal’s(18) early dismissal. In the process Dhawan registered his highest score in this edition of the IPL, bettering the 70 against Mumbai Indians in Pune.
Englishman Liam Livingstone, who was bought for Rs 11.5 crore in the IPL auction, played a little cameo of 19 runs off seven balls with the help of a four and two sixes towards the end to swell the Punjab total.
Punjab made a slow start after being sent in to bat and Agarwal’s struggles this season continued as he was out in the sixth over. They reached 37 for one the after power play overs.
Dhawan and Rajapaksa kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles though without too many boundaries. The duo took Punjab to 72 for one at the halfway mark.
The advantage for PBKS was that they lost just one wicket in the first half of their innings and they capitalised on that later in the back-end. They scored 64 runs in the final five overs.
Brief scores: PBKS 187 for 4 (Shikhar Dhawan 88 n o, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 42, Dwayne Bravo 2/42) beat CSK 176 for 6 (Ambatai Rayudu 78, Kagiso Rabada 2/23) by 11 runs.