The 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, saw Punjab Kings (PBKS) emerge victorious by seven wickets against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Punjab won the toss and elected to field first. The defending champions got off to a steady start with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane stitching together a 50-run partnership during the powerplay. However, the spin duo of Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar brought the visitors back into the game, claiming three quick wickets – Rahane (29 off 24 balls), Shivam Dube (a golden duck), and Ravindra Jadeja (2 off 4 balls). The stranglehold applied by the spinners was evident as they conceded no boundaries between the 7th and 15th overs.
Sameer Rizvi joined Gaikwad in an attempt to rebuild CSK innings. Rizvi contributed 21 runs off 23 balls before departing. Gaikwad, meanwhile, accelerated the scoring rate with a flurry of boundaries before being dismissed for a well-made 62 runs off 48 balls. Moeen Ali (15 off 9 balls) and MS Dhoni (14 off 11 balls) chipped in with late cameos, but CSK could only manage a total of 162-7. Gaikwad’s knock propelled him to the top of the Orange Cap leaderboard with 509 runs in 10 innings.
Brar and Chahar were the standout performers with the ball for the visitors. They picked up two wickets each and conceded a mere 33 runs in their combined eight overs. Kagiso Rabada also chipped in with a wicket for 23 runs in his four overs, keeping CSK batters in check.
Chennai Super Kings’ defence suffered a setback early on as Deepak Chahar sustained an injury in the second ball of the innings and was forced to leave the field. Although Richard Gleeson, making his IPL debut, provided a breakthrough by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh (13 off 10 balls), the momentum quickly shifted in Punjab’s favour. Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30 balls) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 23 balls) launched a counterattack, stitching together a rapid 50-run partnership that put the game beyond CSK’s reach. Shashank Singh (25* off 26 balls) and Sam Curran (26* off 20 balls) ensured Punjab chased down the target comfortably with seven wickets and 13 balls to spare.
This victory marks PBKS’ fifth consecutive win against the five-time IPL champions across IPL seasons 2021-2024. It’s also the fourth time a visiting team has defeated CSK at the Chepauk stadium.
Harpreet Brar’s economical spell of two wickets for 17 runs in four overs earned him the well-deserved Man of the Match award.
With this win, PBKS climb to the seventh position on the points table with four wins from ten matches. CSK remain in fourth place with five wins from ten matches.
Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings: 162-7, Overs 20, Ruturaj Gaikwad 62, Rahul Chahar 2/16
Punjab Kings: 163-3, Overs 17.5, Jonny Bairstow 46, Shivam Dube 1/14