Dhawan shows the way as Punjab defeat Super Kings
Opener hits 88* off 59 balls to help PBKS win by 11 runs despite Rayudu’s 39-ball 78
MUMBAI: Whether it was the after-effect of being shot out for 115 in their previous game or the nature of a Wankhede Stadium pitch hosting a second game on the trot, Punjab Kings shunned their hyper-aggressive batting approach against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a change in the IPL on Monday.
Ambati Rayudu’s audacious mindset almost upstaged the opposition’s tactical shift led by a brilliant 59-ball 88* from opener Shikhar Dhawan in Punjab Kings’ 187/4. In the end, the total was enough for Punjab to eke out an 11-run win for their fourth victory of the season.
Like Punjab, CSK too had a sedate start, the difference being an extra wicket lost. Sandeep Sharma dismissed Robin Uthappa in the second over while Arshdeep Singh bowled Santner leg stump for a drab 15-ball 9. Shivam Dube also chopped one on from Rishi Dhawan—wearing a faceguard while bowling—as CSK meandered at 40/3 after seven overs.
Rayudu (78—39b, 7x4, 6x6) brought with him wings into the innings, and targetted Punjab’s fifth bowling options Rishi and Liam Livingstone. Just when his 49-run partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad had Punjab in a bother, Kagiso Rabada got the opener to hole out to mid-off. Rayudu kept going, pouncing on half trackers and full tosses dished out by Rahul Chahar and Sharma, smashing four sixes and two fours off the 15th and 16th over that collectively leaked 38 runs.
It pulled the equation down to 47 off 24 balls, but a fast and full delivery by Rabada deflected off Rayudu’s pads on to the leg stump in the 18th over. MS Dhoni, who turned the clock back in his final-over assault against Mumbai Indians, couldn’t weave his wand again in the last over.
Punjab,who earlier didn’t bother much about losing wickets as it went hard in the powerplay, chose to build a sound foundation on Monday. Skipper Mayank Agarwal and Dhawan struck only a couple of fours and a six in the first six overs, going at a run-a-ball. The cut shot which gave Agarwal the two boundaries also led to his downfall against Maheesh Theekshana. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s innings aptly reflected Punjab’s shift in approach. The Sri Lankan, who’d lashed a 9-ball 31 against Kolkata Knight Riders a match before being dropped for Jonny Bairstow, crawled to five off nine deliveries against CSK. The southpaw was dropped on 1 and 5, on the leg side boundary as CSK’s fielding woes this season continued.
The gear was cranked up in the 12th over after Dhawan crunched Mukesh Choudhary for three fours. Dhawan countered CSK’s tactics of bowling wide to him with aplomb by either finding gaps through the crammed ring, going over midoff or shuffling outside off-stump to sweep and paddle past short fine leg.
The 16-run 12th over was backed up by a 14-run 14th over where Rajapaksa deposited a low full toss over long-off. Jadeja chose not to bowl himself or fellow left-arm orthodox Mitchell Santner, whose figures in the powerplay read 2-0-8-0, against the southpaws. The duo was happy to milk the medium pacers in the last six overs that produced 70 runs. Rajapaksa was finally caught, ending a 110run partnership. A couple of sixes by Livingstone in the penultimate over followed by one from Dhawan off the last was the kind of finish Punjab craved.
Brief scores: PBKS
187/4 (S Dhawan 88*, B Rajapaksa 42; D Bravo 2/42). CSK 176/6 (A Rayudu 78; K Rabada 2/23, R Dhawan 2/39). PBKS won by 11 runs.