Priyansh Arya’s brilliant 103 led Punjab Kings to an 18-run win over Chennai Super Kings in Mullanpur on Tuesday, April 8, as CSK suffered their fourth consecutive defeat of the season.
Shreyas Iyer, winning the toss, chose to bat first with the aim of setting a challenging total. Arya set the tone immediately, hitting a six off the very first ball.
Although CSK struck back with two quick wickets, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer falling early, Arya continued to dominate. He slammed R Ashwin with a boundary and two sixes in the final over of the powerplay, reaching his half-century off just 19 balls.
Despite losing more wickets and being reduced to 83/5, with no other top batsman reaching double figures, Arya and Shashank Singh continued to attack relentlessly.
Arya welcomed Matheesha Pathirana with three consecutive sixes and a boundary, bringing up his maiden IPL hundred in just 39 balls. His knock included 7 boundaries and 9 sixes before Noor Ahmad ended the onslaught.
Punjab finished at 154/6 in 13.4 overs, and Shashank ensured a solid finish with Marco Jansen, guiding Punjab to 219/6.
Chasing a daunting target, CSK got off to a strong start with Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway adding 61 for the first wicket in just 39 balls. But Punjab struck back with wickets, including Maxwell’s dismissal of Rachin and Lockie Ferguson’s removal of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Shivam Dube, in as an impact player, combined with Conway for an 89-run stand. Conway, batting with poise, seemed to be the best CSK batter of the day, but the partnership was broken when Dube fell for 42, caught by Ferguson.
As MS Dhoni came to the crease, fans anticipated some magic, and he quickly hit two sixes in a row. CSK then made the surprise move of retiring out Conway, who had been batting well for 69.
Dhoni continued the assault, hitting another maximum off Arshdeep before holed out to Yuzvendra Chahal on the first ball of the last over, ending CSK’s chase.
Punjab Kings clinched a thrilling win, with Arya’s heroics and strong all-round performance sealing the 18-run victory.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ