The first game of the final doubleheader weekend of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Abu Dhabi, proved to be a one-sided affair.
After ruining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)’s party, CSK played spoilsport to KXIP’s qualification chances. Thereby, CSK hung on to their reputation of being the party-poopers of the tournament.
MS Dhoni’s men bulldozed over KXIP with a comprehensive 9-wicket win and completed their chase with 7 deliveries to spare.
Earlier, MSD won the toss and opted to field first. CSK bowlers did well to contain KXIP batsmen to 153/6 in 20 overs.
It appeared as if the Punjab team would not be able to reach the competitive total with the scoreboard reading at 113/6 once.
KXIP found a batting hero in Deepak Hooda, who resurrected the innings with his unbeaten knock of 62 which came off just 30 balls. He smashed three fours and four maximums during his outing, striking at a rate of 206.67.
This was Hooda second half-century and first fifty in over five years of IPL cricket. Openers KL Rahul (29 off 27) and Mayank Agarwal (26 off 17) could not convert their starts and ended up exposing the brittle middle-order.
For CSK, Lungi Ngidi (3/39) was the pick of the bowlers as he ran through the KXIP batting order with his spell.
Chasing 154, it was Ruturaj Gaikwad yet again for CSK who brought up his third consecutive IPL fifty. The right-handed batsman scored a brisk 62 off 49 deliveries, in an innings laced with six fours and one six.
He found support from Faf du Plessis (48 off 34) and Ambati Rayudu (30 off 30), who kept the required run-rate in check with their hand.
None of the KXIP bowlers barring Chris Jordan managed to pick a wicket. As a result, CSK won the match with ease and end their forgetful tournament on a high.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings – 154/1 in 18.5 overs (Gaikwad 62*, Du Plessis 48) beat Kings XI Punjab – 153/6 in 20 overs (Hooda 62*, Ngidi 3/39) by nine wickets.
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