Chennai Suffer Another Loss As Punjab Gain 2 More Points

Punjab Kings Beat Chennai Super Kings By 54 Runs

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to open their account in IPL 2022 as Punjab Kings beat the defending champions by 54 runs in the 11th match of the season. 

With this win, PBKS moved up to the 4th spot in the IPL points table with four points in the three matches while CSK continued to remain at the seventh spot with their third straight loss of the season. 

Chasing 181, CSK had a horrific start as they lost five wickets for 36 runs in 7.3 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, and Ravindra Jadeja all got out against the moving ball. Debutant Vaibhav Arora got two wickets upfront. 

Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni tried to rebuild the inning with their 62-run stand in 46 balls. Dube contributed 49 runs in that stand as he smacked 57 runs in 30 balls to keep up with the required run rate which was climbing each over. 

Liam Livingstone got Dube and Dwayne Bravo in consecutive balls to once again put PBKS in front. Rahul Chahar wrapped the final three wickets, including Dhoni on 23 off 28, in the next two overs as CSK got bowled for 126 in 18 overs. 

Earlier, on being asked to bat first, Punjab lost two wickets inside two overs. But Liam Livingstone didn't bother and counter-attacked. PBKS scored 72 runs inside the powerplay. Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan added 95 runs in 52 balls for the third wicket to set up a strong base. 

Dhawan got out scoring 33 in the 10th over and Livingstone followed him in the next after smashing 60 in 32 balls with the help of five sixes and as many fours. Jitesh Sharma also slammed 26 in 17 balls to keep up with the scoring rate. 

CSK brought things under control in the slog overs and restricted Punjab to 180/8 in the first innings. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Punjab Kings - 180/8 
Chennai Super Kings - 126/10 in 18 overs