In a dramatic encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Punjab Kings (PBKS) secured a nail-biting four-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
This hard-fought win carries significant consequences, officially eliminating CSK from playoff contention, making them the first team to face this outcome this season. Adding to the home team’s woes, this defeat marks an unprecedented fifth consecutive loss for CSK at their home ground in Chepauk.
CSK’s innings faltered early after being put into bat. The opening pair of Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre struggled to build momentum, with Arshdeep Singh drawing first blood in the third over, dismissing Rasheed. Marco Jansen further dented CSK’s progress by removing Mhatre shortly thereafter. Harpreet Brar continued the pressure, sending Ravindra Jadeja back to the pavilion in the sixth over. This early collapse left CSK struggling at 48-3 at the end of the powerplay, marking the sixth instance this season they’ve failed to reach 50 runs in the first six overs – the most by any team in the current campaign. Their powerplay run rate of 7.91 is also the lowest among all franchises.
However, Dewald Brevis and Sam Curran then forged a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket, providing much-needed stability to the CSK innings. Just as they looked to accelerate, Azmatullah Omarzai broke the stand, dismissing Brevis for a well-compiled 32 off 26 deliveries.
The innings then witnessed a spectacular display of power hitting from Sam Curran. The English all-rounder took charge, unleashing a flurry of boundaries and injecting crucial momentum into the CSK innings. His explosive over against Suryansh Shedge yielded 26 runs, becoming CSK’s most productive over of the season. Curran continued his magnificent innings until Marco Jansen returned to dismiss him for a brilliant 88 off just 47 balls – the highest individual score for CSK this season and the second-highest T20 score of Curran’s career.
Unfortunately for CSK, Curran’s dismissal triggered a dramatic collapse. Veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal turned the game on its head in a sensational 19th over, claiming a remarkable hat-trick. He began by dismissing MS Dhoni on the second ball, followed by Deepak Hooda on the fourth, Anshul Kamboj on the fifth, and completed the hat-trick by dismissing Noor Ahmad on the final delivery. This was Chahal’s second hat-trick in the IPL, further solidifying his position as the bowler with the most four-plus wicket hauls in the tournament’s history (nine).
Despite Curran’s heroics, the late flurry of wickets meant CSK were eventually bowled out for 190. Interestingly, this total marks the highest first-innings team total in IPL history when a team has been bowled out.
Chasing 191 for victory, Punjab Kings’ opening pair of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh walked out to bat – a first in IPL history where four uncapped Indian players opened in a single match. The duo provided a brisk start, adding 44 runs before Khaleel Ahmed struck, removing Arya for 23 off 15 balls. This was Ahmed’s ninth powerplay wicket of IPL 2025, the most by any bowler this season.
Shreyas Iyer then joined Prabhsimran, and the pair stitched together a crucial 60-run partnership. Prabhsimran reached his half-century before Iyer took over, unleashing an array of aggressive shots and also reaching his fifty.
A quickfire 23 off 12 balls from Shashank Singh threatened to take the game away from CSK, but a stunning catch on the boundary by Dewald Brevis provided a glimmer of hope. Matheesha Pathirana bowled a tight 19th over, conceding just four runs and dismissing a well-set Shreyas Iyer for a match-defining 72 off 41 balls, leaving the game finely poised.
With just two runs required off the final over, Khaleel Ahmed was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling for CSK. He started with a dot ball, followed by a wide, levelling the scores. The drama intensified as Ahmed then dismissed Suryansh Shedge, raising hopes of a Super Over. However, Marco Jansen, facing his second delivery, managed to get a bottom edge past MS Dhoni, sending the ball to the boundary and securing a thrilling four-wicket victory for Punjab Kings in a truly captivating encounter that sealed CSK’s fate in the IPL 2025 season.
This victory also extends Punjab Kings’ dominance over CSK in recent encounters. They have now defeated them in seven of their last eight games, including an impressive three consecutive wins at Chepauk in their three visits since 2023. The loss also confirms an unwanted record for CSK: for the first time in their IPL history, they will miss out on the playoffs for two consecutive seasons.
Shreyas Iyer was awarded the Man of the Match for his well-composed and anchoring innings of 72 off 41 balls, which included five fours and four sixes.
Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings: 190, Overs 19.2, Sam Curran 88, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/32
Punjab Kings: 194-6, Overs 19.4, Shreyas Iyer 72, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28
