| 0.0 : Hello and welcome everyone. It's the last day of the league stage in this year's Indian T20 League. Two games lined up for Sunday and both are very significant. First up, Punjab, who still have a slim outside chance of getting to the playoffs, are hosting Chennai at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. The tourists are safely through but would like to win this game to confirm their top two finish. For the hosts, it's a very interesting situation to be in. If they win by a ma |
| PITCH REPORT - Mpumelelo 'Pommie' Mbangwa is the pitch expert today and he says it is really hot out there in the middle. He informs us that the curator watered the surface 2-3 hours before the game and rolled it then, such is the heat. He reckons that it is a good surface, hard one and more than decent for batting, especially in a day game. We are told that the average score here batting first is 172, but Mbangwa feels that both teams would want to have more than that today. He signs off by say |
| Toss - Up goes the coin, MS Dhoni calls it wrongly and PUNJAB WILL FIELD! |
| Punjab skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin says that they have played on most of the wickets here. He tells us that this is the second one on this particular surface and that the pitch could be slightly on the slower side considering it is a day game. Ashwin states that every game you play is important for the franchise and that lots of players want to play well and be counted, especially the youngsters. He tells us that one needs to be really good against Chennai if you want to beat them and doing tha |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni says that in spite of being in the playoffs nothing really has changed and he feels it's their last opportunity to sort out all their issues before the next stage begins. Informs that they are unchanged from the last match. |
| CHENNAI XI (UNCHANGED) - Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (WK/C), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir. |
| PUNJAB XI - Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Andrew Tye, Harpreet Brar (IN FOR ARSHDEEP SINGH), Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami. |
| We are almost ready for the first ball. The two openers for Chennai, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis are out in the middle. Ravichandran Ashwin has given his final instructions to his side as they head to their fielding positions. The new ball is in the hands of the skipper but wait, he is not bowling! He tosses the ball to Harpreet Brar. Everything in readiness, let's play! |
| 0.1 : H Brar to du Plessis, Flighted on the middle and leg stump line, nudged towards wide mid on for a single by du Plessis. He and Chennai are away! |
| 0.2 : H Brar to S Watson, Tossed up on middle, Watson comes ahead and defends it back solidly towards the bowler. |
| 0.3 : H Brar to S Watson, Flatter on middle this time, Shane looks to defend but gets it off the inside half towards mid-wicket for a run. Lucky he got some bat on that one. |
| 0.4 : H Brar to du Plessis, Du Plessis gets another single as he works this flatter one on middle away through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 0.5 : H Brar to S Watson, Fired in on off, Watson remains in the crease to keep it out, albeit a bit awkwardly. |
| 0.6 : H Brar to S Watson, FOUR! That will make him feel a lot better. Flatter outside off, that little width is all that Watson needs. The ball pings off the middle of the bat and through cover-point for a boundary. |
| Pace from the other end. Mohammed Shami to run in... |
| 1.1 : M Shami to du Plessis, FOUR! Du Plessis gets his first boundary now. Shami starts off with a poor length ball on the pads. Easily flicked away through square leg and deep fine leg has no chance to come around and stop that. |
| 1.2 : M Shami to du Plessis, On the hips this time, tucked away for a single to deep backward square leg. |
| 1.3 : M Shami to S Watson, Off the middle but straight to the fielder. A length ball on off, Watson takes a nice stride ahead before punching the ball to mid off. |
| 1.4 : M Shami to S Watson, Good ball. Slightly back of a length and on top of off stump, Watson taps the ball to the off side and looks for a single but wisely decides against it in the end. |
| 1.5 : M Shami to S Watson, Back of a length, cut away standing tall to deep third man for a run. That ball was travelling. |
| 1.6 : M Shami to du Plessis, Good running. A length ball on off, Faf du Plessis pats it towards point and sees Watson charging for the quick single. Easily completed in the end. 7 runs each off the first two overs. |
| Pace from both ends now, Sam Curran comes on. |
| 2.1 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, FOUR! Starts his spell with a pitched up ball around off, du Plessis presents the straight face of his bat and forces it past his partner at the other end for a boundary down the ground. |
| 2.2 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Curran goes short on this occasion, around off, Faf stands back and pulls it in front of square leg for a brace. |
| Direct hit at the non-striker's end as du Plessis dives in. It has been taken upstairs... |
| 2.3 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Safely in! Fullish and on middle, du Plessis pushes it down towards mid on and scampers across to the other end as the fielder (Tye) scores a direct hit at the bowler's end. It's referred upstairs and the replays show that Faf is well in. |
| 2.4 : Sam Curran to S Watson, Back of a length delivery on middle, pulled again in front of square leg and the deep fielder made a sliding stop. One more run added to the total. |
| 2.5 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Sam continues to drop it short and du Plessis has no issues in pulling it towards deep square leg for an easy run. |
| 2.6 : Sam Curran to S Watson, Slower short ball this time, around middle and leg, Watson is early into his pull shot and hence misses. Gets hit on the body and the ball rolls near the surface. 9 from Curran's first over. |
| 3.1 : M Shami to du Plessis, Good ball from Shami. Sees Faf du Plessis coming down the track and drags the length down. Faf can only keep it out towards cover. |
| 3.2 : M Shami to du Plessis, Back of a length on top of middle, du Plessis dabs the ball to the left of point for a run. |
| 3.3 : M Shami to S Watson, That was nippy! Slightly back of a length on middle and leg, Watson looks to pull it away but is late on the shot. The ball rushes through and gets him high on the thigh pad. The ball goes off towards the off side and the batsmen change ends. Leg bye signalled. |
| 3.4 : M Shami to du Plessis, Du Plessis runs down the track once more and hits the ball towards mid off with a horizontal bat. |
| 3.5 : M Shami to du Plessis, Another dot! On a length, Faf crunches the shot straight to cover. |
| 3.6 : M Shami to du Plessis, FOUR! That one is in the gap! Fuller on middle and leg, flicked away through mid-wicket. There were 3 fielders on the leg side and to still find the gap, CLASS! What was a good over until then ends up being an okayish one at the end. |
| 4.1 : Sam Curran to S Watson, A half-shout for a caught behind! Curran hurls in a short delivery down the leg side, Watson tries his best to pull it across the line but misses. Sam turns and appeals but the umpire stretches both his arms. |
| Sam Curran to S Watson, OUT! The off stump goes cartwheeling! Curran strikes with a back of a length delivery around middle and off. It skids on with the angle and Watson camps back to play a late dab down to third man. But the Aussie is too late in doing that and the off stump is pegged back. Watson continues to play with Chennai's fans' emotions, his last five innings now read - 7, 0, 8, 96, 5. This is also Sam Curran's 50th T20 wicket. |
| Suresh Raina, the evergreen Chennai man walks out at number 3 as usual. |
| 4.2 : Sam Curran to S Raina, Nearly drags it on first ball. Curran delivers it on a good length outside off, Raina tries to play through the line but it catches the bottom edge and rolls behind to the keeper. |
| 4.3 : Sam Curran to S Raina, Sliding down the leg side, Raina helps it towards square leg and gets off the mark with a run. |
| 4.4 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Shortish and outside off, Faf slaps it through the line but finds extra cover. |
| 4.5 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, FOUR! Lovely footwork shown by the South African. He jumps out of the crease to make a length ball full and then drills it back past the bowler for a boundary down to long off. Excellent. |
| 4.6 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. One run added to the total. 7 runs and a wicket from the over. |
| Ravichandran Ashwin comes into the attack. |
| 5.1 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Flatter one on the middle and leg stump line first up, du Plessis pushes it back towards the bowler. |
| 5.2 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Shorter outside off, Faf pulls it away to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 5.3 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Flatter on the pads, Raina looks to whip it away but misses the ball. Hit outside the line of leg stump. |
| 5.4 : R Ashwin to S Raina, FOUR! Heaved away! A flatter one on off, Raina gets under the ball and pulls it over mid-wicket. That has to be fetched from the other side of the rope. |
| 5.5 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Good comeback! Shorter on off, Raina looks to cut but the ball goes off the under half towards the bowler. |
| 5.6 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Worked away through mid-wicket for a run to end the Powerplay. Chennai are 42/1 at the end of it. One of their better Powerplays this year. |
| Harpreet Brar is back on. |
| 6.1 : H Brar to S Raina, Flatter and shorter on off, Raina goes on the back foot and punches it back to the bowler. |
| 6.2 : H Brar to S Raina, Leans forward to a full ball outside off and drives it straight to the cover fielder. |
| 6.3 : H Brar to S Raina, Beaten! Arm ball on off, skidding away, Raina sticks back to play a late cut but is beaten. |
| 6.4 : H Brar to S Raina, SIX! This will release all the pressure. Doesn't middle it too well but it has travelled the distance. Brar delivers it flat and wide outside off, Raina shimmies down the track and goes big down the ground. It doesn't fly from the meat of the bat but still has enough to clear long on. |
| 6.5 : H Brar to S Raina, Turns it off his pads to mid-wicket and crosses for a run. |
| 6.6 : H Brar to du Plessis, Du Plessis walks down the track and seeing that Brar shortens his length. The South African keeps it out to covers to end the over. |
| 7.1 : R Ashwin to S Raina, FOUR! The outfield is electric here! That brings up 50 for Chennai. Around the wicket and outside off, Raina dabs it really late past first slip. The backward point fielder has no chance to even chase that ball. |
| 7.2 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Flatter on middle, pushed towards long on for a run now. Good batting, a single after the boundary. |
| 7.3 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Play and a miss! Slower through the air outside off, du Plessis looks to cut but the ball keeps slightly low. He is beaten. |
| 7.4 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Pushed back towards long on for a run. |
| 7.5 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Flatter outside off, driven along the ground to long off by the southpaw for a run. |
| 7.6 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Worked away through mid-wicket for a run by FdP. Boundary off the first ball, 4 singles after that. Easily done by Chennai this over. |
| 8.1 : H Brar to du Plessis, Flatter and on middle, du Plessis moves back inside the crease to hit it across the line but it takes the inside edge and rolls closely past the stumps towards short fine leg. A single is taken. |
| 8.2 : H Brar to S Raina, Aerial but just wide of the bowler. Quicker on off, stopping a bit onto the batsman, Raina punches it uppishly past the left side of the diving bowler to long on. A single taken again. |
| 8.3 : H Brar to du Plessis, Walks down to the pitch of the delivery and turns it through mid-wicket for one. |
| 8.4 : H Brar to S Raina, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. |
| 8.5 : H Brar to S Raina, SIX! Raina goes big again. He charges down the track to a full ball in his half and smashes it over mid-wicket for a biggie. That's hit with the spin and clears the fence with ease. |
| 8.6 : H Brar to S Raina, Fuller and on off, Raina nudges it down through mid on for a run. 10 from the over! |
| Strategic break! Chennai should be the happier team right now, given their top order problems this season. They have powered their way to 67 in 9 overs and are setting a good platform. They would love Raina and du Plessis both to continue. On the other hand, Punjab would love one or two quick wickets which will slow down things for the visitors. The pitch seems to be a really good deck to bat on without much assistance for the bowlers. Meanwhile, Andrew Tye comes onto bowl! |
| 9.1 : A Tye to S Raina, Starts off with one on length outside off, driven along the ground to long off for a single by Raina. |
| 9.2 : A Tye to du Plessis, FOUR! Shot! Over extra cover! A length ball outside off, the knuckle ball. Faf du Plessis is one of the best batsmen in the world and spots that one early. He lifts the ball with ease over covers. No chance for the fielder in the deep. |
| 9.3 : A Tye to du Plessis, Played through the mid-wicket region by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 9.4 : A Tye to S Raina, FOUR! Second one of the over. Wide outside off, with third man in. You are asking for trouble. Raina easily guides it through the gap between short third and backward point. The ball reaches the rope. |
| 9.5 : A Tye to S Raina, Flicked off the hips to deep mid-wicket for a run by Raina. |
| 9.6 : A Tye to du Plessis, Short of middle, pulled away to deep mid-wicket for a run by du Plessis. Chennai are 79/1 at the halfway mark. The partnership has motored along to 49! |
| Murugan Ashwin is now on! |
| 10.1 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, 50-run stand comes up! A flatter and shorter ball outside off, du Plessis drags his pull shot behind square leg and jogs across to the other end. A handy partnership this, coming at a good rate as well. |
| 10.2 : M Ashwin to S Raina, The length is short again, landing on middle, Raina goes back and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for one. |
| 10.3 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, FOUR! You got love this shot. Fancy footwork once more from du Plessis. He is down the track in a flash and then hammers it over the bowler's head for a boundary. Nearly went all the way, just bounced inside. |
| Stumping appeal has been referred upstairs. Not much excitement shown by the keeper. Let's see... |
| 10.4 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, NOT OUT! Beauty of a delivery by Murugan. He slows it up in the air and lands it full around off. Du Plessis stretches forward to play the slog sweep but it spins away slightly to beat the outside edge. Pooran is quick to take the bails off and appeals. The square leg umpire goes upstairs and the replays find Faf safely in. There was a moment when du Plessis did lift his back foot slightly while dragging it further inside the crease but there was never any doubt tha |
| 10.5 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, FOUR! Poor fielding from KL Rahul. He has let that one go through as he has slipped slightly. A flatter leg-spinner on middle and leg, Faf du Plessis whips it away through mid-wicket. Rahul in the deep comes to make a regulation stop but slips at the last moment and lets the ball under him. Reaches the rope. |
| 10.6 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, Quicker and fuller on middle, forced down to long on for a run. 11 from Murugan's first over. |
| 11.1 : A Tye to du Plessis, Slower short ball on middle, du Plessis tucks it to mid-wicket for a run. |
| 11.2 : A Tye to S Raina, FOUR! That outfield is so fast! A length ball on middle, Raina comes inside the line and glances that so delicately through fine leg. The fielder in the deep runs to his left and was not too far away from that one but he cannot reach the ball. |
| Review time! It is for an LBW against Suresh Raina. He was struck low on the pads by a yorker but the line looked outside leg to the naked eye. Was there bat too? Ravichandran Ashwin has taken it upstairs so we will find out... |
| 11.3 : A Tye to S Raina, NOT OUT! The ball has come off the bat. That is a wasted review. A really full ball just outside leg, Raina looks to flick the ball and gets hit low on the pads. Tye appeals but the umpire says no. He persuades his skipper to take that one up and Ashwin does so. The replays though show us that the ball has taken a good portion of the bat on its way through. Nothing going Punjab's way! |
| 11.4 : A Tye to S Raina, Digs in a short ball around leg, Raina shuffles across and glances it off his hips behind square leg. Takes a run. |
| 11.5 : A Tye to du Plessis, Beaten! Slower one at 111.4 kph, a touch short and on off, du Plessis tries his best to pull but is beaten by the lack of pace. |
| 11.6 : A Tye to du Plessis, Slower again, full and on middle, du Plessis pushes it down the ground from the inner half of his bat. The long off fielder cuts it off and they pick a run. |
| 12.1 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, Single and that is FIFTY FOR FAF! His 11th one in the Indian T20 League Flatter on the pads, flicked away for a single to get to his fifty! Excellent innings so far from du Plessis, would love a big one though. |
| 12.2 : M Ashwin to S Raina, Beaten! A googly outside off, Raina had no idea about where that was going. Looks to push it through covers but is beaten by the turn. |
| 12.3 : M Ashwin to S Raina, This time Raina gets bat on ball and pushes the ball towards the other Ashwin at cover. |
| 12.4 : M Ashwin to S Raina, A lot straighter this time on middle, Raina works it through mid-wicket for a run by SR. |
| 12.5 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, 100 comes up! A flatter one pushed through on middle, worked through mid-wicket by du Plessis for a run. |
| 12.6 : M Ashwin to S Raina, Raina works this one away through the leg side for another run. A good over for Punjab this, they need to build some pressure which possibly would then bring them a wicket. |
| Ravichandran Ashwin comes back on. He has figures of 2-0-14-0 so far. |
| 13.1 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Flighted and full outside off, Raina reaches out for it and strokes it to long off for a run. |
| 13.2 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Tossed up ball outside off, driven through mid off for a single. |
| 13.3 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Fires one in on middle, Raina stays back and punches it down to long on for one. |
| 13.4 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Beaten by a beauty! Ashwin dishes out a carrom ball just outside off, Faf picks it very late and ends up offering no shot. Just a late thought of playing inside the line was there. |
| 13.5 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Ashwin goes wide of the crease and serves a full ball on middle, du Plessis kneels down and sweeps it to deep mid-wicket for one. |
| 13.6 : R Ashwin to S Raina, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. 9 runs in the last two overs, slow going from Chennai. |
| 14.1 : M Ashwin to S Raina, Flatter on middle and leg, Raina pulls it away through mid-wicket for a couple of runs as the fielders in the deep do a partnership fielding. |
| 14.2 : M Ashwin to S Raina, FOUR! Fifty for Raina! A gift to get there too. Shorter on middle and off, Raina stands back and pulls it wide of long on for a boundary. Beautifully bisects both the fielders in the deep to get to his 38th League fifty. |
| 14.3 : M Ashwin to S Raina, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot through covers. One run added to the total. |
| 14.4 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, FOUR! Second one of the over. Full toss on middle and leg, du Plessis runs down the track and hits the ball as straight as an arrow. The ball beats long on to the rope. |
| 14.5 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, SIX! This is even better! A flighted ball on leg, du Plessis runs down the track and also a bit to his left. He then gets under the ball and lifts it over long on. This is turning into a really expensive over from Murugan. |
| 14.6 : M Ashwin to du Plessis, Driven through cover for a run. FdP keeps strike at the end of the 18-run over. |
| Strategic break! This partnership between Raina and du Plessis has gone from strength to strength. It has set stage for a grandstand finish and Punjab could end up chasing a really big total here by the looks of things. The hosts would hope that they can at least pick a few wickets to bring new batsmen to the middle. Also, Andrew Tye comes back on. |
| 15.1 : A Tye to du Plessis, FOUR! Slapped away! A short delivery outside off, du Plessis skips down the track and clobbers it through extra cover for a cracking boundary. |
| 15.2 : A Tye to du Plessis, FOUR! Tye is not learning. He continues to drop it short in the batsman's half. This one is on middle and Faf powers his pull shot over mid-wicket for a boundary. Great start to the over for Chennai. |
| 15.3 : A Tye to du Plessis, SIX! This one disappears. Tye under tremendous pressure. He goes seam up this time but it's served on a length around middle, du Plessis makes room for the swing of his bat and dismisses it over wide long on. |
| 15.4 : A Tye to du Plessis, Almost another boundary. Short and on middle, du Plessis pulls it powerfully through mid-wicket and it speeds through. Mandeep in the deep makes a sliding stop and then parries it to Curran who has come in from square leg. Only two results. |
| 15.5 : A Tye to du Plessis, Half-tracker once more, this one is pulled straight to Mandeep at deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 15.6 : A Tye to S Raina, Bangs in a well-directed short ball, Raina tries to pull but fails to get much behind his shot. It rolls in the gap at mid-wicket and they cross. Back-to-back 18 runs over for Chennai, they are on the charge now! |
| Sam Curran comes back on. |
| 16.1 : Sam Curran to S Raina, Slower one on off, Raina looks to lift it over long on but fails to time it well. The ball goes on a few bounces to long on. Just a single to start off the over. |
| 16.2 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, SIX! What is that shot! A fuller length ball wide outside off, du Plessis reaches out and smacks it right back over the bowler's head. The sightscreen bears the brunt of that shot. |
| 16.3 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, Shot! Equally good stop as well. A fuller length ball on middle, FdP whips it away to the right of long on where the fielder makes an excellent stop. Single taken. The 150 comes up! |
| 16.4 : Sam Curran to S Raina, OUT! Raina departs and that brings to an end the excellent partnership of 120! A short ball on middle and leg, Raina looks to pull it over short fine leg. The ball though is not timed too well and the catch is taken easily by Shami out there. The stage has been set though and Raina has more than done his job here. Roars from the crowd though at the end of the wicket, no guesses why. |
| MS Dhoni arrives. |
| 16.5 : Sam Curran to MS Dhoni, Bouncer to welcome Dhoni! Just outside off, MS lets the ball go through to the keeper. |
| 16.6 : Sam Curran to MS Dhoni, On the hips this time, Dhoni tucks it towards square leg. He declines the single as the ball goes straight to the fielder. 8 runs off the over and a wicket as well. |
| Ravichandran Ashwin comes back on now to bowl out. |
| 17.1 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Flatter delivery, short and on middle, du Plessis moves back and punches it down to long on for a run. |
| 17.2 : R Ashwin to MS Dhoni, Turns it with the spin on the leg side, finds the gap and runs across to the other end. |
| 17.3 : R Ashwin to du Plessis, Charges down the track and drives it through covers for a single. |
| 17.4 : R Ashwin to MS Dhoni, Flighted and wide outside off, Dhoni reaches out for it and plays it straight to point. |
| 17.5 : R Ashwin to MS Dhoni, Flighted and on off, MSD defends it back off his front foot. |
| 17.6 : R Ashwin to MS Dhoni, Rocks on the back foot to a short ball and strokes it to sweeper cover for one. Another tidy over by Ashwin, he ends his spell now with excellent figures of 4-0-23-0. |
| 18.1 : Sam Curran to MS Dhoni, Really full on the pads, Dhoni flicks it away past short fine leg. Did not get that off the middle so will pick up two runs as deep square leg mops up. |
| 18.2 : Sam Curran to MS Dhoni, Short of a length on top of off, Dhoni pulls it away to deep mid-wicket for a run. Good stuff in the deep to keep that down to a single. |
| 18.3 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, SIX! Moves to 96! That has flown! A short length ball on middle, du Plessis stands tall and hoicks it deep into the stands at deep mid-wicket. |
| 18.4 : Sam Curran to du Plessis, OUT! Oh no! Du Plessis will not get to his 100. He is floored by a brilliant yorker and sees his bails come off while he is down on the ground. Curran spears one on the base of the South African skipper, Faf looks to flick it away but the ball gets him on the toes. It then goes on to hit the off stump. FdP departs on 96 and that remains Chennai's highest individual score this season, even Watson made 96 in one of the earlier games. This wicket was Curran's third. |
| Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman. |
| 18.5 : Sam Curran to A Rayudu, Quick single! Wide yorker outside off, Rayudu looks to cut the ball but gets an under edge towards the keeper. Dhoni has charged down from the other end and completes the run easily even as Pooran fires a direct hit with an under arm throw. |
| 18.6 : Sam Curran to MS Dhoni, Back of a length and aimed at Dhoni's ribs, MSD looks to pull but can only manage a glove towards the on side. A single is taken which means he will be on strike for the final over. Excellent stuff from Curran, 11 runs at this stage is not that bad. He finishes with figures of 4-0-35-3. |
| Mohammed Shami to bowl the final over. |
| 19.1 : M Shami to MS Dhoni, Change of pace first up. Slow and short outside off, Dhoni moves back and hits it down to long off for a run. |
| 19.2 : M Shami to A Rayudu, OUT! Rayudu holes out! Shami angles in a length ball on middle and leg, Rayudu heaves it across the line over mid-wicket but doesn't have enough power behind it to clear Mandeep Singh in the deep. It falls straight down his throat and Chennai lose their fourth wicket. |
| Kedar Jadhav walks out to bat now but it will be MS Dhoni on strike as the batsmen crossed ends as the catch was being taken. |
| 19.3 : M Shami to MS Dhoni, Goes fuller to Dhoni on middle and MS only manages to whip it towards deep mid-wicket for just a run. |
| 19.4 : M Shami to K Jadhav, OUT! One more wicket in the over and Shami is doing a great job here. A 145.8 kph delivery, landing on a length around off, Jadhav gives himself room on the off side and tries to hit it through the line. But he is beaten in pace and the off stump takes a beating. 2 runs and 2 wickets so far from the over. |
| Dwayne Bravo walks out to bat now. |
| 19.5 : M Shami to D Bravo, Shami follows the new batsman down the leg side with a good length ball, Bravo jumps and helps it in front of square leg to hand the strike back to Dhoni for the last ball. |
| False start for Mohammed Shami. He pulls out at the last moment. |
| 19.6 : M Shami to MS Dhoni, Terrific yorker by Shami, Dhoni can only manage to push it down to long on and they take a couple of runs. The throw from the deep was very poor. What a last over by Shami, just 5 runs from it along with a couple of wickets. Chennai finish on 170/5! |
| Just 28 runs off the last 4 overs, including just 5 runs off the last one and Punjab have finished really strongly here! They will be heading into the break with momentum and have a great chance to chase down this total, which at one stage even they would have felt would be more than 200! Once du Plessis and Raina fell, none of the other batsmen could even find the rope and that means that Punjab surely are chasing something 15-20 less than what Chennai would have liked them to. |
| After being inserted to bat, Chennai once again got to a sedate start and lost Watson pretty early. That though was the only success Punjab had for a long time after that as Raina and du Plessis in the middle added 120 runs for the second wicket. They both reached their fifties and the South African was the more aggressive of the two. Raina departed soon after making his half ton but Faf continued and departed eventually just 4 short of a ton. The final few batsmen who came in, including MS Dhon |
| Coming to the bowling, Ashwin and co. would feel they have done a tremendous job pulling back things. Sam Curran was the pick of the bowlers, snaring 3 wickets while the skipper Ashwin himself bowled a really economical spell. Shami returned at the death to bowl a brilliant final over. Tye and the other Ashwin had a poor day in the field. All in all though, the hosts would not be too disappointed though. Time for an interview... |
| Faf du Plessis says that he is disappointed not to get a century but reckons it was a good delivery on which he got out. On the pitch, du Plessis replies that it's a good deck and feels that they are about par on this wicket, probably 10 runs short. Adds that they have got a good bowling attack to defend it and hitting a good line and length is the key. Praises Ravichandran Ashwin for bowling well and hopes that Chennai's spinners will also do the same. Smiles and states that the conditions are |
| Thus, 171 to win now for the hosts. They should have a really good chance of getting there if they bat well as conditions do get better under lights. The pitch getting slower could be the only hindrance with a lot of good spinners in the Chennai outfit. Should be a good contest, be back in a bit for the chase... |
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