CSK and PKBS: As Chennai Super Kings took the field for the second time in IPL 2021 which was also MS Dhoni’s 200th IPL game, Deepak Chahar belted out an absolute masterclass to rock the Punjab batting in the very beginning that left their skeleton exposed. After being put to bat, Punjab was in the midst of an avalanche that saw them losing Mayank way too early in the innings, courtesy of a peach from Chahar.
Rahul did manage to stitch a boundary and started with an overhaul with Chris Gayle after the latter being dropped for nought. However, a brilliant piece of fielding from Ravindra Jadeja and a clinically precise throw got rid of the menacing Punjab skipper for cheap.
As Punjab was tottering at 19 for the loss of 2, Jadeja pulled off another stunner in the field that removed Chris Gayle in no time. The West Indian pinch-hitter, Nicholas Pooran couldn’t find any steam either as he once again failed to open his account and returned for a silver duck.
Despite Shahrukh Khan and Jhye Richardson applying a brief spell of resistance to the landslide, Chennai once again got on top as Moeen Ali and Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo joined the party. A brilliant showdown from the Chennai bowlers restricted Punjab to a paltry 106 for the loss of 8 wickets.
Faf Du Plessis stormed off to a blinder that saw Chennai cruising in the initial stages only to come a cropper from a very reserved Ruturaj Gaikwad. Arshdeep Singh got the better of the youngster as he compelled him to hole out to Deepak Hooda. As the South African opener resumed a much-more reserved stance after the departure of Gaikwad, it was English all-rounder, Moeen Ali who started whacking the bowlers all around the park.
An English storm blew away the leftover dreams of the Kings and a decent knock from Du Plessis at the other end saw the Yellow Army through in the end. Over the span of the last two days, the way the team batting second has slipped towards the end has been a horrid nightmare for anyone with a chase. In fact, Chennai lost three wickets in a span of nine runs to once again spark an infamous déjà vu of the sudden slip-ups after a dominant display throughout the game.
Deepak Chahar’s four-star performance was the highlight of the night
CSK and PKBS highlight: The man of the moment for Chennai Super Kings was Deepak Chahar who dished out a sublime performance to break the spine of Punjab Kings. He started with an extraordinary delivery that clattered onto the stumps of Mayank Agarwal. He followed it up with some brilliant mixing of pace that got the better of Chris Gayle as he holed out to a flying Jadeja.
The next victim in his kitty was an out-of-element Nicholas Pooran who was outdone by his sudden burst of pace and ended up holing out to an ordinary Shardul Thakur. The final victim of this vicious spell from the aspiring fast bowler was Deepak Hooda who failed to find his stride today and threw away his wicket in the face of an impending cataclysm.
Not only did he manage to bowl a spell that eked four crucial scalps but he produced a maiden over, stuff from the folklore in the shortest format of the game. He was hailed by Dhoni for this wonderful performance and he also paved the way for an easy victory where things got a wee bit complicated towards the end with a sudden onset of adrenaline from the Punjab bowlers.
IPL 2021: CSK vs PKBS – Who won the Man of the Match?
Without any confusion and ado, Deepak Chahar was adjudged as the Man of the Match as he pulled off the magical spell that saw him bowling 18 dot balls and producing that peach of a delivery that pitched on the middle stump and went to kiss the top of the off-stump, a delivery rarely bowled in the entire antiquity of cricket. After being rebuked and criticized for a woeful performance in the season opener, Chahar chronicled a strong comeback that would spark a lot of hopes in the Chennai ranks.
