IPL 2021: Deepak Chahar's 4-for, aided by Moeen Ali's 46, helps CSK secure 6-wicket win over PBKS

A terrific outing with the ball, supported by a steady batting performance, allowed former champion Chennai Super Kings to trounce Punjab Kings by six wickets in Match 8 of the 2021 Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. While pacer Deepak Chahar nailed it with his four-for, all-rounder, Moeen Ali's 46 helped CSK seal the deal.

Winning the toss, CSK skipper MS Dhoni elected to bowl, as both sides went in with an unchanged XI. PBKS was off to a horror start, losing its opening four wickets by the fifth over itself (Mayank Agarwal- 0, KL Rahul- 5, Chris Gayle- 10 and Nicholas Pooran- 10) while the powerplay score read 26/4.

There was no respite post PP as well, as in the seventh over, Deepak Hooda departed for just ten to Chahar after being caught by Faf du Plessis at the same score. It was then followed by a 31-run stand for the sixth wicket between all-rounder Shahrukh Khan and Jhye Richardson before the latter fell for 15 in the 13th over, bowled up by spinner Moeen Ali.

It was followed by another 30-run stand between Shahrukh and Murugan Ashwin. However, the latter was dismissed by pacer Dwayne Bravo for 15 in the 17th over at 87.

Just when it seemed Shahrukh could pull off a cameo, he fell for 47 to pacer Sam Curran as an attempted pull landed a catch into Ravindra Jadeja's hands at deep mid-wicket in the final over, at the score of 101. The pair of Mohammed Shami and Riley Meredith played out till the end of the innings, with PBKS finishing at 106/8.

For CSK, six bowlers were utilised. Chahar was the most impactful, besides also being the most economical.

FULL SCORECARD: IPL 2021, Match 8: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings (PBKS vs CSK)

As CSK came out for the chase, it was expectedly going to be an easy one. However, it wasn't smooth, as with 24 runs on the board, Ruturaj Gaikwad departed for a mere five to Arshdeep Singh after being caught by Hooda in the fifth over.

Nonetheless, the psychological advantage prevailed, as the following pair of fellow opener Faf du Plessis and Moeen contributed to a 66-run stand for the second wicket. In the 13th, the latter fell short of his fourth IPL half-century, as Shahrukh caught him off spinner Murugan.

Despite CSK edging closer to the target, at 99, it suffered a couple of setbacks in the 15th over, with Suresh Raina (8) and Ambati Rayudu (0) falling to seamer Mohammed Shami. However, none of it mattered, as the pair of du Plessis and Riley Meredith sealed the win by six wickets.

As for PBKS, five bowlers were pressed into the attack. While Shami attained the most success, Arshdeep was highly economical.
Brief scores: PBKS 106/8 (Shahrukh- 47; Chahar- 4/13) lost to CSK 107/4 in 15.4 overs (Du Plessis- 36, Moeen- 46; Shami- 2/21) by 6 wickets.

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