Jadeja’s all-round show helps Super Kings see o Punjab Kings
The CSK star conjures up a three-wicket haul after scoring a valuable 43; Deshpande and Simarjeet chip in with crucial strikes as Ruturaj’s men successfully defend 167; Rahul Chahar and Harshal’s e orts with the ball go in vain
bout of u forced Tushar Deshpande to miss out on Chennai Super Kings’ home game against Punjab Kings earlier in the week. But in the reverse xture on Sunday, the seasoned fast bowler returned to action in style and claimed two for 35 to guide CSK to a 28-run win and bring its Indian Premier League campaign back on track.
After CSK’s innings ended at 167 for nine, it did not seem to be a great total on the HPCA Stadium surface.
AEarly strikes
However, Deshpande struck in his opening over, dismissing the in-form Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Russouw in a span of three deliveries. Punjab Kings could not recover and nished its innings at 139 for nine.
Coming into the game, CSK’s bowling department had injury concerns with Deepak Chahar and Matheesha Pathirana out of action, but it managed to execute its plans to perfection as Simarjeet Singh — returning to competitive cricket after December 2022 — and Ravindra Jadeja (three for 20) built on Deshpande’s ery spell.
Things go downhill
Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh forged a 53-run partnership for the third wicket and looked on course to guide Kings out of the woods, but things went downhill once Mitchell Santner dismissed Shashank.
Jadeja followed up by sending back Prabhsimran to trigger Kings’ collapse. The home side lost ve wickets for 16 runs.
With this win, CSK has kept its playos alive despite another dull day with the bat. It lost opener Ajinkya Rahane early, but skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell dominated the PowerPlay, taking the tally to 60 for 1.
Quick wickets
Jadeja once again showed what he can do on his day.
At that stage, it seemed CSK was on course for a 200-plus total, but things turned quickly as leg-spinner Rahul Chahar broke the partnership and claimed the wickets of Ruturaj and Shivam Dube o consecutive deliveries.
Golden duck for Dube
It was another golden duck for Dube and having lost three wickets in a space of 11 balls, CSK’s innings needed consolidating.
Jadeja played a handy knock to help the team breach the 160-run mark.
M.S. Dhoni, who batted at No. 9 for the rst time in his T20 career, fell to the rst ball he faced. But in the end, it was CSK all the way.