Riding on a four-wicket haul by right-arm pace bowler Deepak Chahar, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Punjab Kings by six wickets on Friday to claim their first win in this season's Indian Premier League (IPL).
The right-arm pace bowler's spell (4/13 in four overs) restricted Punjab to 106/8 in 20 overs, a poor score on a Wankhede Stadium pitch that is good for batting. CSK had it easy as they reached the target in 15.4 overs, losing just four wickets, three of which came towards the end of the innings against the run of play.
Put in to bat first, Punjab Kings had a horrific start as the side lost four wickets within the powerplay. Chahar wreaked havoc as he sent back Punjab's top order except for skipper Rahul, who became the victim of Jadeja's brilliant throw. Chahar first cleaned up Mayank for a duck in the first over and then dismissed Gayle and Pooran within a span of six balls to reduce Punjab to 19/4 after Rahul's run out.
Chasing 107, CSK had a slow start as the side scored just eight runs in the first 18 balls with both openers trying to get into the groove in the initial overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad was seen struggling a bit, but Faf du Plessis eased the pressure with two fours and a six in the fourth over. Ruturaj's stint came to end in the fifth over as he tried to pull Arshdeep Singh but top-edged the ball with Deepak Hooda making no mistake. However, Moeen Ali's quickfire 46 off 31 balls helped CSK chase down the target with 26 balls to spare.
Check out the points table after this clash:
1. Royal Challengers Bangalore - 4 points ( played 2, won 2)
2. Chennai Super Kings - 2 points (played 2, won 1)
3. Mumbai Indians - 2 points (played 2, won 1)
4. Delhi Capitals - 2 points (played 2, won 1)
5. Rajasthan Royals - 2 points (played 1, won 1)
6. Kolkata Knight Riders - 2 points (played 2, won 1)
7. Punjab Kings - 2 points (played 1, won 1)
8. Sunrisers Hyderabad - 0 points (played 2, won 0)