INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: Deepak Chahar produced an excellent opening spell to assist Chennai Super Kings beat Punjab Kings by 6 wickets to register their
first victory in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.After medium-pacer Chahar's 4 for 13 enabled CSK to limit
the Punjab team to a below-par 106 for eight, Moeen Ali (46, 31 balls, 7x4s, 1x6) placed on 66 runs for the second wicket with opener Faf du
Plessis (36 not out, 33 balls, 3X4s, 1X6) to protect the win for the three-time champions
CSK completed at 107 for four in 15.4 overs with Sam Curran (5 not out) scoring the winning runs.With the target in sight, CSK lost the
wickets of Suresh Raina (8) and Ambati Rayudu (0) to Mohammed Shami (2/21) in consecutive balls in the 15nth over.Ali opened up after a
rather mindful start, and played some beautiful drives and also hit a huge six.e was holed out to Shahrukh Khan in the deep off leggie
Murugan Ashwin (1/32) with CSK requiring 17 runs for victory.Arshdeep Singh supplied the early development for Punjab, when he had a having
a hard time Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) caught at deep mid-wicket
The Aussie rate duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith might not make much of an impression for the 2nd successive game.Earlier, Chahar
rocked the Punjab batting line-up with an exceptional four-over spell during which he chose up four wickets, consisting of that of 'Universe
Manager' Chris Gayle.Aiming to bounce back after being outclassed by Delhi Capitals in their opening match, CSK bowlers warranted skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bowl first by decreasing Punjab to 26 for four in the powerplay (very first six overs) and then to 26
for five before M Shahrukh Khan (47 off 36, 4X4s, 2X6s) led a short revival
Chahar began the Punjab slide in the very initially over by sending back Mayank Agarwal (0) with a beauty which nipped far from middle stump
Chahar maintained the pressure and increased CSK's woes with his consistency and conceded only two fours in his four-over spell.In-form
Punjab skipper K L Rahul (5) was run-out by a brilliant direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja, who was fielding at short-cover, as the batsman
tried to scramble for a single.Jadeja remained in the act in the fifth over again, grabbing an excellent catch, diving full-length to
dismiss Gayle for 10 to provide Chahar his 2nd wicket
Nicholas Pooran bagged his second straight duck, pulling a brief shipment directly into the hands of Shardul Thakur at long-leg
Deepak Hooda (10 ), who played a blinder in Punjab's first match versus Rajasthan Royals, might not repeat his heroics, lobbing a simple
catch to du Plessis as the group slipped to 26 for 5 in the seventh over.Tamil Nadu's power-hitter Shahrukh Khan was the only Punjab
batsman to make an impression prior to falling to Sam Curran in the last over as CSK was all over their opponent.Shahrukh Khan and Jhye
Richardson (15, 22 balls, 2x4s) included 31 runs for the 6th wicket, in what was the very best collaboration of the innings
Murugan Ashwin (6) then added 30 runs with his Tamil Nadu colleague Khan to help Punjab's cause in an otherwise nightmare night for
them.Sam Curran (1/12), Moeen Ali (1/17), Dwayne Bravo (1/10) were the other wicket-takers for CSK.Dhoni, playing his 200th game for CSK,
won the toss and chose to bowl.
