Published: May 16, 2015, 08:50 PM (IST)
Edited: May 17, 2015, 12:49 PM (IST)
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) tops the table by beating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by seven wickets at Mohali, Punjab. CSK with this win have 18 points in their basket.
KXIP won the toss and decided to bat first. They eyed a good farewell to the Indian Premier League (IPL) but it wasn’t to be. They lost half of their batting line up inside ten overs. Akshar Patel and Rishi Dhawan played a crucial knock to give KXIP bowlers a fighting chance. They somehow managed to get 130 on the board in their 20 overs.
A target of 131 is a mere formality for a batting side, which boasts the like of Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni. KXIP somehow defied all the odds and got back into the game by chipping two early wickets of Michael Hussey and McCullum. But Du Plessis and Raina weathered the early storm and ensured that the game never drifted from CSK’s reach. Raina remained unbeaten on 41 off 34 deliveries.
Turning Point: CSK lost too early wickets and Raina was fighting it out for them. On the third delivery of the seventh over Maxwell missed a caught and bowled opportunity of Raina which took the game away from KXIP as Raina and Du Plessis never gave them a chance to bounce back into the game.
Brief Score:
Kings XI Punjab 130 for seven in 20 overs [Akshar Patel 32 (29), Rishi Dhawan 25 (20)*; Pawan Negi 4-0-25-2, Ravischandran Ashwin 4-0-14-1]- lost to Chennai Super Kings 134 for three in 16.5 overs [Faf Du Plessis 55 (41), Suresh Raina 41 (34)*; Sandeep Sharma 2-0-9-1, Rishi Dhawan 2-0-12-1] – by seven wickets
