Chennai Super Kings’ misery this season continues with another defeat as Punjab Kings beat the defending champions by 54 runs on Sunday. It was the third straight defeat for CSK as they have not yet opened their account on the points table. In a one-sided affair at Brabourne Stadium, the CSK batting unit failed to give any fight to PBKS in a 181-run chase and that too on a good batting surface. They lost five wickets for just 36 and were eventually bundled out for 126.
On the other side, PBKS have made their intentions clear that they are going to play an aggressive brand of cricket this season with the bat as was evident when they lost two early wickets but the power-hitting didn’t stop from Liam Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan.
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Here are the talking points from Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings Clash
Livingstone Lives up to Hype
Livingstone finally lived up to the hype around him for which PBKS shelled out a whopping Rs 11.5 crore at the mega auction. He came in to bat at no. 4 when PBKS were in a tricky position having lost captain Mayank Agarwal and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, but that didn’t stop the Englishman to take on the CSK bowlers.
Livingstone counter-attacked, putting the pressure on CSK straightaway. He dealt with spin and pace with equal ease and smacked 60 off 32. The lanky batter also smashed the longest six of IPL 2022 so far – a 108-metre maximum against Mukesh Choudhary to display his batting prowess. And then with the ball, he claimed two crucial wickets of Shivam Dube and Dwayne Bravo to pin CSK down.
Chris Jordan Shines
CSK, who are missing the services of Deepak Chahar with the ball, got some relief with a disciplined bowling performance from Jordan who claimed two crucial wickets for just 23 runs. The England pacer was picked in the XI after recovering from tonsil infection and he straightaway left an impact with his performance in the death overs where he sent PBKS’ power hitters Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith back to the pavilion without much impact on the scoreboard.
Ruturaj Gaikwad Flop Show Continues
The Orange Cap winner of last season is yet to find his groove this season. With scores of 0,1 and 1, Gaikwad has failed to give CSK a solid start so far in the tournament. The young opener is struggling against swing bowling and nothing has gone in his favour. CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja also admitted that the team management has to give him some confidence and back him to come good in the upcoming matches. With Faf du Plessis no more a part of the franchise, CSK desperately want Gaikwad to get his form back soon after losing three matches on the trot.
Also Read | IPL 2022: ‘Need to Give Ruturaj Gaikwad Confidence And Back Him’ – CSK Skipper Ravindra Jadeja
MS Dhoni Fails to Switch Gears
The veteran wicketkeeper batted with a questionable approach in a game where the required run rate was well over 13 at one stage. Dhoni scored 23 runs off 28 balls with a six and a four which came too late in the match. The former captain has a set pattern to take the game deep in the run chase but consuming more deliveries in a chase where the team was already half down and the required run rate was mounting over 13 was a big gamble which didn’t pay off.
Lone Warrior Dube
The southpaw was the lone warrior for CSK in the chase. He smashed 57 off 30 balls, an innings laced with three sixes and six fours, but he didn’t get ample support from the other end or can say Dhoni failed to match his scoring rate which put pressure on Dube to score quick runs on his own. The 28-year-old played some quality shots all around the park in the quest to take the game closer but was dismissed on 57 in search of a boundary. Interestingly, he is the leading run-getter for CSK so far in the tournament with 109 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 165.15.
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