Chennai Super Kings Fall Short Once Again in High-Scoring Chase

Chennai Super Kings’ disappointing run with the bat carried on as they failed to chase down another steep total, falling 18 runs short against Punjab Kings. Chasing a daunting target of 220, CSK could only manage 201 runs in their 20 overs, despite a promising start.

Toss and Team News

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first, sticking with the same playing XI as their last outing. Chennai Super Kings also went unchanged.

Chennai Super Kings XI: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed
CSK Subs: Shivam Dube, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton

Punjab Kings XI: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson
PBKS Subs: Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Parvin Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Arya’s Masterclass Amid Punjab’s Middle-Order Collapse

Priyansh Arya bounced back in style after a golden duck in the previous game, smashing a sensational 103 off just 42 balls. It was the fourth-fastest century in IPL history (39 balls), laced with 7 fours and 9 massive sixes. Benefiting from a couple of dropped chances, Arya made the most of his lifelines.

Even as wickets fell around him — PBKS were 6 down inside 14 overs — Arya anchored the innings with authority. Later, Shashank Singh (54*) and Marco Jansen (34*) added an unbeaten 65-run stand to close out the innings in style.

CSK’s bowlers had a tough day. All went for an economy rate above 9, except Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled a tidy spell. Khaleel Ahmed and R Ashwin picked up two wickets each but couldn’t prevent Punjab from piling on a big total.

Bright Start, But CSK Fail to Finish

Finally, CSK had a decent opening stand — their best this season — as Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway put up 59 in the powerplay. It was the ideal start to a daunting chase. However, the timeout curse struck again. Ravindra, batting fluently, was dismissed just three balls after the timeout. His departure triggered a collapse as skipper Gaikwad was dismissed after facing only three deliveries.

Conway continued alongside Shivam Dube and the two formed a valuable 89-run partnership. But it proved too slow, coming off 51 balls. Dube scored 42 before falling, while Conway had to retire out, unable to find the boundaries at will.

MS Dhoni brought some late fireworks, smashing three towering sixes, including two in Lockie Ferguson’s final over. But with 26 required off the last 6 balls, the task was too tall even for Captain Cool.

Punjab's bowlers held their nerve brilliantly in the death overs. Ferguson was particularly impressive, finishing with 2 wickets despite the Dhoni onslaught in his last over.

Man of the Match

Priyansh Arya was deservingly named Player of the Match for his explosive and game-defining 103 off 42 balls.