Kagiso Rabada picked up the vital wicket of Ambati Rayudu to help the Punjab Kings claim a tight 11-run win over the Chennai Super Kings in their Tata IPL clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday evening.
Needing 188 to win, CSK were well behind the rate on 90 for four in the 13th over when Rayudu decided to unleash, powering himself from decent start of 32 off 20 balls to 78 off 39 balls (7×4; 4×6) when Rabada intervened.
Rayudu had just taken Sandeep Sharma for 23 runs in the 16th over, slamming three sixes and a four in consecutive balls, to bring CSK back into the match needing 47 runs off the last four overs.
But a superb 17th over from Arshdeep Singh saw six off it, while the 18th over, bowled by Rabada, also went for just six runs. During that over, Rababa removed Rayudu with a top yorker to castle the charging batsman.
This left CSK needing 35 off the last two overs which was just too much for captain Ravindra Jadeja (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (12) to do as they ended on 176 for six.
Rabada was the pick of the Punjab bowlers with figures of 2-23 from his four overs, while Rishi Dhawan, 2-39, and Singh, 1-23, backed him up well.
At the start of the chase CSK lost three early wickets to be 40 for three after seven overs, before opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) and Rayudu combined for a 49-run fourth-wicket stand.
Rabada then removed Gaikwad, caught by Mayank Agarwal in the 13th over, which brought Jadeja to the crease and saw Rayudu start to unleash to almost haul CSK back into the game.
Carried his bat
In the Punjab innings it was all about captain Shikhar Dhawan who powered his side to a solid 187 for four in their 20 overs.
Dhawan carried his bat through the innings, getting off to a slow start before picking it up in the second half of the innings as he hammered his way to an unbeaten 88 off 59 balls, featuring nine fours and two sixes.
A 110-run second wicket partnership between Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 42 off 32 (2×4; 2×6), set them up well to kick on in the closing overs and reach a good score on a slow wicket.
At the start of play CSK won the toss and chose to bowl, limiting Punjab in the powerplay as they only managed 37 while losing the wicket of Agarwal (18) caught by Shivam Dube off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana.
This brought Rajapaksa to the crease and he immediately received two lifelines, dropped twice off the bowling of Jadeja, the second of which went for six as it flew through the hands of Mitchell Santner.
By the halfway mark Dhawan and Rajapaksa were starting to pick up the rate, reaching 72 for one, before they moved on and brought up the team’s hundred in the 13th over.
The 14th over, bowled by Dwaine Pretorius then went for 14 as Rajapaksa clubbed him for a six, and a four from Dhawan brought up his half century.
The duo brought up their century stand in the 17th over, before Rajapaksa skied a Dwayne Bravo slower ball to be caught by Dube in the 18th with them on 147 for two.
Liam Livingstone (19 off 7, 1×4; 2×6) came in and didn’t mess about, tucking into Pretorius in the 19th over as he slammed a four and back-to-back sixes, while Dhawan ended the over with a boundary as 22 came off it.
An eventful last over from Bravo then saw Livingstone caught first ball, followed by Dhawan hitting a six, Jonny Bairstow (6) a four and a run out off the last ball.