Continuing their winning streak after supershow at Eden Gardens, Punjab Kings outclassed defending champions Chennai Super Kings with a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat at their home ground in Tata IPL match 49 on Wednesday.
Punjab’s comfortable chase was propelled by breezy knocks from Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30 balls) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 23 balls), allowing them to surpass Chennai’s at-par total of 162/7, anchored by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s robust 62 off 48 balls.
This win at Chepauk has powered PBKS to seventh place on the IPL points table with eight points. However, CSK remained in fourth place with 10 points. CSK’s bowling unit was missing Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande. Later in the match, early injury to pacer Deepak Chahar meant that CSK had just two bowlers. Shivam Dube ended up picking a wicket for the first time since 2020. Though dew had made the situation difficult, Punjab’s disciplined batting efforts shone through.
After losing opener Prabhsimran Singh early, Bairstow and Rossouw formed a crucial 64-run partnership, surpassing the 50-run mark within the powerplay. Bairstow dominated the spinners, while Rossouw’s aggressive approach saw him pummel Dube and Thakur for sixes. Although Rossouw missed out on a fifty, Shashank and skipper Sam Curran (26 not out off 20 balls) comfortably guided PBKS to victory with an unbroken 50-run stand.
