Chennai won on Sunday in Dharamsala by a margin of 28 runs.
In Match 53, Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings squared off. After winning the toss, Punjab decided to field. Chennai was reduced to 167 for 9 thanks to three wickets apiece from Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel. Then, Ravindra Jadeja worked his magic, destroying Punjab’s hopes with three vital wickets taken in the middle overs. Chennai won by a margin of 28 runs. CSK is currently in third place on the leaderboard with 12 points and has five titles under their belt.
Although mathematically they are still in the race, Punjab’s aspirations are dim. PBKS had won five straight games against CSK, matching MI’s record of five straight wins in 2018 and 2019. This was PBKS’s longest winning streak over CSK. CSK’s previous victory over PBKS came in the 2021 Indian Premier League opening leg.
A postseason berth for PBKS can perhaps elude them.
After eleven games, PBKS has won four of them and accrued eight points. They will have 14 points if they win their final three games. To make the top four, nevertheless, their future is dependent on the results of other teams, just like that of lower-ranked clubs. If they lose any more games in the future, their chances of making the playoffs will be greatly reduced. Following this defeat, Punjab Kings may no longer be in charge of their own fate.
“I felt like we bowled pretty well.” At the midway point, Rahul Chahar and Harshal were bowling exceptionally well, but sadly, it wasn’t to be. The wicket was certainly slower than we had anticipated; we had been expecting a bit more bounce and pace. The surface remained very consistent throughout the match. In the post-match presentation, Sam Curran stated, “We need to move on and stay headstrong because we have a few days off and we play RCB in a few days.”