Kings XI Punjab came close but weren't able to convert that into victory as they fell short by 16 runs while chasing the stiff target of 187 runs that was set by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk, Chennai. Riding on the brilliant century of Suresh Raina CSK posted that huge score of 186 runs on the board but it was some sensational batting from Shaun Marsh and David Millers which made this contest much more electrifying as they smacked 73 runs and 51 runs respectively. But it was the brilliant bowling of Mohit Sharma and Dwayne Bravo which made all the difference. Bravo picked up three wickets in the final over of the match and sealed the victory for CSK.
Here we bring to you the hits and flops from the match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
HITS
Suresh Raina: Raina scored a brilliant century and showed his class during fielding as well. He started off well and was finding the boundaries quite easily. He scored seven fours and six sixes in his stunning knock of 100 runs in just 53 balls. His ability to stay at the crease till the last ball makes him even more dangerous.
Shaun Marsh: Marsh scored 73 runs off 51 balls and kept Kings XI in hunt. He started off slowly but started dealing in boundaries in the mid-overs of the innings and kept the momentum going till the final over of the match. He smashed eight fours and two sixes in his innings of 73 runs.
Mike Hussey: Hussey once again gave that ideal start on which Raina capitalized really well. He got out after scoring 35 off 29 balls. He was deceived by Piyush Chawla and was stumped by Gurkeerat Singh.
David Miller: Miller was once again sensational with the bat as he went onto score 51 off just 26 balls. He didn’t mind taking the aerial route and started lofting the ball to clear the ropes. He smacked five fours and two sixes and stayed till the last ball of the match. His maturity while batting makes him a brighter prospect for Punjab in upcoming matches.
Mohit Sharma: Sharma once again got those important breakthroughs in the first six overs and pushed Punjab on the back-foot. He ended up with the figures of 2/31 in his four overs. His consistent line and length made him look very dangerous in the initial overs.
Parwinder Awana: Awana once again was amongst the wickets but he gave away 29 runs. He took the wickets of Wriddhiman Shah and Albie Morkel at crucial times and surely did well to restrict them to less than 200 with his superb bowling performance.
Dwayne Bravo: Bravo bowled brilliantly in the last over of the match and picked up three wickets in the end. He was bowling those yorkers really well to restrict the opposition batsmen. He gave away just three runs in that overs and lead his side to victory.
FLOPS
Luke Pomersbach: Pomersbach again failed to deliver with the bat as he got out after making five runs. He was bamboozled by Mohit Sharma in the second over of the innings.
Wriddhiman Shah: Shah played an unnecessary risky shot and got out after taking a decent start. He needs to bat for atleast good eight to 10 overs to give his side an ideal launch-pad to go bizarre in final overs. He scored run-a-ball 18 runs and smashed one four and one six in his cameo.
Praveen Kumar: Kumar didn’t have a good day with the ball as he gave away 38 runs and didn’t pick up a single wicket. His failure in bowling surely led the team down as he was the only one who was giving those early breakthroughs to Punjab.
MS Dhoni: Dhoni got run out after scoring just two runs. He was trying to steal a single when R Sathish fielded brilliantly and his throw found Captain Cool short of crease.
Manpreet Gony: Gony once again went for plenty as he gave away 29 runs in just two overs. He was hit all over the park, courtesy Raina and Hussey, who scored two fours and two sixes off his bowling.
R Sathish: Sathish also turned out to be expensive as Raina smashed him for 17 runs off the six balls from Satish that he faced. He gave away 26 runs in his two overs. He didn’t do any good with the bat too and was dismissed without a score on the very first ball that he faced.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network
