Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis were the unbeaten stars on Sunday as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Chasing 179, openers Watson and du Plessis scored unbeaten 83 off 53 balls and 87 off 53 balls respectively to help CSK register their second win of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The win has bailed CSK out of the bottom position and taken them to the sixth spot with four points from five matches. Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, are currently languishing at eighth with just one win under their name.
Opting to bat first, Punjab rode on skipper KL Rahul’s 52-delivery knock of 63 and Nicholas Pooran’s fiery finishing touch to the innings with his 33 runs off 17 balls. Mayank Agarwal and Mandeep Singh also contributed 26 and 27 runs respectively in Punjab’s total or 178/4.
Meanwhile Watson, who struggled in the previous games, smashed 11 boundaries and three sixes, du Plessis’ knock contained 11 fours and one six. The massive win also saw CSK improve their standings in the points table as they jumped two spots to be at the sixth place.
The KXIP bowlers hardly opened up any opportunities during CSK’s innings as they succumbed before the openers’ quality act in the middle.
Both CSK openers notched up their respective half-centuries in the 11th over before they comfortably steered their side to a comprehensive victory. South African du Plessis hammered Mohammad Shami for a boundary through extra cover to put the final nail in the coffin.
Earlier, Rahul and Agarwal provided an ideal start to their side as KXIP reached 46 runs in the initial six overs. Leggie Piyush Chawla got the first breakthrough for CSK as he dismissed Mayank in the ninth over as KXIP’s scorecard read 61/1.
Rahul was then joined by Mandeep Singh and the pair stitched 33 runs for the second wicket. Just when KXIP were approaching the three-digit mark, Ravindra Jadeja packed back the latter in the 12th over.
Pooran and Rahul were then involved in a crucial 58-run partnership for the third wicket before Shardul Thakur dismissed both the batsmen in consecutive deliveries of the 18th over, leaving KXIP at 152/4.
Some effective bowling by Shardul and Dwayne Bravo in the final two overs restricted KXIP to a moderate total. Glenn Maxwell and Sarfaraz Khan remained unbeaten on 11 and 14 runs respectively.
Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 178/4 wkts in 20 overs (KL Rahul 63, Nicholas Pooran 33; Shardul Thakur 2/39) lost to Chennai Super Kings 181/0 wkt in 17.4 overs (Shane Watson 83 not out, Faf du Plessis 87 not out; Ravi Bishnoi 0/33) by 10 wickets
With IANS inputs