Published: May 16, 2015, 07:11 PM (IST)
Edited: May 17, 2015, 07:27 PM (IST)
Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina guide Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 Match 53 at Mohali. CSK have now guaranteed themselves a top of the table finish in the IPL 2015 points table going into the playoffs. Full updates: KXIP vs CSK
Faf du Plessis scored a vital half century after CSK were reduced to 10 for two. His 92-run stand between him and Suresh Raina was pivotal for CSK as they ensured that CSK did not have any trouble in knocking the runs down. But Faf was unfortunately bowled off the bowling of Rishi Dhawan. But he had ensured that his team were in a comfortable position. FULL SCORECARD: KXIP vs CSK
Raina however carried his good run and managed to stay at the wicket till the end with his skipper MS Dhoni. Raina has not been in the best of form this season, but this innings would have certainly given him confidence. This comes just at the right time as he will look to carry this momentum into the playoffs. Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings , Free Live Streaming Online
Ravichandran Ashwin’s economical spell and Pawan Negi’s two-for had earlier helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) restrict Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) to 130/7 Indian Premier league (IPL) 2015 match 53 at Mohali. CSK will be delighted to chase down a low total as this and cement thir position at the top of the IPL 2015 points table.
CSK had gotten off to a ideal start as they got rid of the dangerous Wriddhiman Saha for just 17. Skipper George Bailey promoted himself to No.3, but he too was dismissed for just 12. Manan Vohra did not get much of the strike and as a result went for a big shot and he holed out to third man. Wickets kept tumbling for KXIP and they found themselves in a spot of bother after they lost half their side with just 55 on the board when Akshar Patel came together with David Miller.
But Miller could not withstand the pressure that was built on him and pulled a short delivery to deep mid-wicket, where Ravindra Jadeja took a brilliant diving catch. KXIP never really got things going as MS Dhoni was building more and more pressure by introducing spinners and getting through the overs quickly. Rishi Dhawan then joined Akshar to the crease.
Akshar continued his good from hitting some crucial boundaries as KXIP went past the 100-run mark. He did not even spare the current Purple Cap holder Dwayne Bravo as he hit him for a huge six over long off in the penultimate over. Dhawan gave him good company at the other end and rotated the strike extremely well. He too joined the party and hit Bravo over the long on fence in the same over. But Bravo got his revenge as a short delivery took the top edge of Akshar’s bat and MS Dhoni took a comfortable catch running back, which brought -run partnership to an end.
Dhawan played a fighting innings and his six off the final over from Nehra helped his side go past 130 and has now given his bowles something bowl at. It is a low total but KXIP will take it considering the start they got.
Earlier KXIP captain George Bailey had won the toss and elected to bat first. CSK have brought in Michael Hussey in place of Dwayne Smith and Ashish Nehra returns to the playing XI in place of Mohit Sharma. KXIP have named an unchanged side from their win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Brief score:
Kings XI Punjab 130 for 7 in 20 Overs (Akshar Patel 32, Rishi Dhawan 25*; Pawan Negi 2 for 25, R Ashwin 1 for 14) lost to Chennai Super Kings 134 for 3 in 16.5 overs (Faf du Plessis 55, Suresh Raina 41; Sandeep Sharma 1 for 9) by 7 wickets.
Man of the match: Pawan Negi
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
