Punjab Kings winning ways came to a halt after they faced a shocking 28-run victory against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. After winning two games on the trot, PBKS failed to capitalize on their momentum and were restricted to 139/9, in the chase of 169/9. In the match, Ravindra Jadeja gave an all-round performance as he scored 43 off 26 balls and also scalped three big wickets for CSK. However, it was a disappointing outing with the bat for MS Dhoni as the CSK star got out for golden duck.
Dhoni walked out to bat at No 9, a thing which he did for the time in 18 years. In the 19th over of CSK's innings, Dhoni was completely foxed by a slower delivery from Harshal Patel that dipped rapidly and left him completely flabbergasted. The ball went right through his defense and crashed into the off-stump.
Dhoni's dismissal left the Dharamsala crowd stunned but PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta could not hide her emotions and was seen celebrating in the stands. She gave a beautiful smile and applauded Harshal for his brilliant wicket.
Talking about the match, wily leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (3/23) and seamer Harshal Patel (3/24) put up a spirited show but Jadeja made a crucial 43 that came off just 26 balls to prop CSK to a par 167/9 after they were sent in to bat by Sam Curran.
The left-arm spinner then returned to grab three for 20 in four overs in the crucial middle-over phase to derail PBKS' chase, which ended at 139 for nine.
"Thought we bowled really well. Rahul Chahar and Harshal bowled really well, was pretty happy at the halfway point but unfortunately it wasn't to be. The wicket was probably slower than we thought, we expected a little more pace and bounce, it was pretty similar throughout the game. Couple of days off and we go against RCB in a few days time so we need to move on and stay headstrong," PBKS stand-in skipper Sam Curran said after the match.
CSK will now be squaring off against Gujarat Titans in their next IPL 2024 match on Friday while PBKS will be taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday.
(With PTI Inputs)