Rayudu fights valiantly but CSK's hopes dwindling

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the thirty-eighth game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Shikhar Dhawan was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Kings switch gears

The Kings' strategy for the first half of the competition was to try to beat up the opposition from the start. They batted aggressively throughout, but were dogged by wickets falling at a similar rate. Those strategies yielded a few eye-catching victories and a slew of costly blunders, the most recent of which came in their most recent match, when they were dismissed for 115 and lost by nine wickets with 57 balls to spare to the Delhi Capitals.

They took a more typical strategy here, throttling back at the top and then opening up with wickets in hand after being inserted for the seventh time in a row. The Kings got off to their slowest start to an innings this season with a score of 37 for 1, but Shikhar Dhawan and the recalled Bhanuka Rajapaksa - the Sri Lankan back in the side for the first time since the Brabourne victory three weeks ago - settled into a steady stand that laid the foundation for an imposing total.

Rajapaksa required some luck to get to double digits, as he was dropped twice before, but he made the most of it to assist the Kings post their first century partnership of the season. As the Kings reached 72 for 1, the pair hit just six boundaries in the first half of the innings, one of which should have resulted in Rajapaksa being caught at deep midwicket. However, just as the Super Giants did in their game at the Wankhede on Sunday night, they effectively lifted the tempo in the second ten overs.

Shikhar illuminates path

Dhawan, who was playing his 200th IPL match, became only the second man behind Virat Kohli to score 6000 runs in the competition with a flicked single in the second over. Dhawan had hit almost 1000 boundaries against the Super Kings alone by the time he reached the 60s, blasting back-to-back boundaries down the ground off Dwayne Bravo in the 16th over. This was his second 50-run game, and it was enough to sink the Yellow Submarine in the end.

Dhawan's approach set the tone for the rest of his team, as he went slightly over a run per ball in the first half of the innings. Until he tucked into Mukesh Choudhary in the 12th, rattling off a pair of cuts that beat the cover sweeper on both sides, and then flicking four more off the pads through the ring with fine leg up, his only boundaries were a slog-swept six against Maheesh Theekshana and a driven four off Dwaine Pretorius. The Kings were on track thanks to a 37-ball fifty from Dhawan, and, when Rajapaksa went in the 18th over, Dhawan gave over the strike to Liam Livingstone, who took Pretorius for 4-6-6 in his seven-ball cameo.

Lack of power in Super Kings' play

The Super Kings have struggled to get their innings off to a solid start all season, and they shipped early wickets in the chase once again. Sandeep Sharma was one of three of Kings' XI changes, as they sought greater batting depth at the expense of two genuine bowlers - Vaibhav Arora and Nathan Ellis; Sharma had gone wicketless in his only previous appearance, the season opener against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but he struck with his fifth ball this time, Robin Uthappa splicing a pull to midwicket.

Mitchell Santner was asked to fill in for Moeen Ali at No. 3, but he labored to 9 off 15 balls - four of which came through a thick outside edge past the keeper - and was the second wicket to fall, to Arshdeep Singh, who took off his leg stump in the sixth over. With that expulsion, the Super Kings' powerplay batting average for the season dropped to 20.50, the lowest among the 10 teams. In the next over, Rishi Dhawan, who was making his first IPL appearance since 2016, found a way through Shivam Dube to put them three down and off the pace.

Rayudu brings chase back to life

The Super Kings were 89 for 4 in the 13th over after the dismissal of Ruturaj Gaikwad, and appeared to be out of contention, only for Ambati Rayudu to put on a show of clean hitting on route to his maiden fifty of the season. He hit the stands six times, including a punishing three-in-a-row off Sharma during an over that pushed the Super Kings back within striking distance. With the asking rate down to 47 from the last four overs, Arshdeep Singh bowled a brilliant over of wide yorkers for just six runs, and Rayudu's dismissal by Kagiso Rabada ensured Mahendra Singh Dhoni had too much to do.