Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 22 runs in the first of two IPL 2019 matches on Saturday. Chennai Super Kings posted a total of 160/3 in their stipulated 20 overs. CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first. Openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis gave the home team a good start. However, KXIP spinners - with Ravichandran Ashwin being the destructor-in-chief - bogged down the scoring rate in the middle overs. MS Dhoni came up with a good finish at the end, however, as 44 runs were scored off the final three overs to get the score up to 160. The KXIP innings got off to a rocky start, with Harbhajan Singh capturing the wickets of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal in the same over. KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan consolidate in the middle part of the innings but ran out of ideas as the spinners choked the scoring rate. With this, CSK have 8 points from 5 matches and KXIP continue to have 6 points, also having played 5 matches. (SCORECARD)
IPL 2019 Highlights Updates Between Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, straight from MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Goodbye from the live coverage of the CSK vs KXIP match. Please head over to our live coverage of today's second IPL match, where Mumbai Indians and SunRisers Hyderabad are taking on each other. A win for SRH in that one would mean they would again overtake CSK in the IPL table.
Kuggeleijn gets his second wicket of the day. Sarfaraz hit that shot high up in the air, but like KXIP's soaring mid-innings hopes, it was bound to come down eventually. Faf du Plessis pouches that gratefully. KXIP need 24 runs off 2 balls.
Kuggeleijn gets his second wicket of the day. Sarfaraz hit that shot high up in the air, but like KXIP's soaring mid-innings hopes, it was bound to come down eventually. Faf du Plessis pouches that gratefully. KXIP need 24 runs off 2 balls.
Dot ball. That's it. This will take a miracle from KXIP now. Need 24 from 4 balls. Kuggeleijn has bowled his bouncer for the over though. What is the strategy for the next four? Dhoni and Raina converge around him.
Start of the 19th over and disaster for CSK. Chahar's line and length is wild. Sarfaraz throws his bat at it. Gets four runs. Also a no ball. Free hit!
Kuggeleijn has come back well in these last few overs. Leaked 27 runs in his first two overs, but has been hard to get away in this over. KXIP need 43 off 14. Miller on strike.
CSK are well and truly into this game now! Rahul out for 55. Holes out in the deep. Man with the catch is Ravindra Jadeja, who else! KXIP now need 44 off 15 balls. Killer Miller the man out to join Sarfaraz.
Which also means that there is a lot of pressure on Scott Kuggeleijn to produce two good overs at the death. You never know with Dhoni, but surely going to his part-timers would be too risky at this stage.
What a great spell from Bhajji again today! Will it be enough for CSK though? KXIP need 51 runs off the last 4 overs. Imran Tahir has one over left. But this is where CSK are feeling a huge Bravo-sized void.
Rahul and Sarfaraz content to play these overs of spin without much happening. Scoring only in singles. KXIP need 56 in 30 balls. 18 balls of which will probably be bowled by Chahar and Kuggeleijn.
Dhoni does marvelously to stump KL Rahul. But amazingly, the bails do not fall off. Is this Punjab's lucky day. Nothing going Dhoni's way today. What a flick that was to hit the stumps though.
Again, only four runs off that over. Jadeja and Tahir doing well. KXIP need 86 in the last 9 overs. David Miller is waiting in the dugout of course. As is Mandeep Singh. And Sam Curran after him.
The big question is whether Dhoni will turn to Raina and/or Jadhav any time today? Or will he keep faith on Chahar and Kuggeleijn. Kuggeleijn went for 11 runs in his first over in the IPL.