IPL 2021, CSK vs PBKS: KL Rahul's Punjab wins by 7 wickets, halts Chennai's bid for top spot

Punjab Kings handed Chennai Super Kings its third defeat in a row in the IPL 2021 clash in Dubai on Thursday. As a result, CSK's bid for finishing atop the table is over.

It was a classy performance by Punjab Kings (PBKS). On Thursday, it handed a seven-wicket defeat to former champion Chennai Super Kings in Match 53 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium,thanks to KL Rahul's unbeaten 98. While it was CSK's third defeat in a row, it has also ended its hopes for a top-spot finish.

Winning the toss, PBKS elected to bowl, as he made a change by bringing in Chris Jordan, while CSK skipper MS Dhoni moved in with an unchanged XI. CSK was off to a shaky start, losing Ruturaj Gaikwad (12) and Moeen Ali (0) to pacer Ashdeep Singh within the Powerplay, with 24 runs on the board.

Just three runs later, Robin Uthappa (2) departed to pacer Chris Jordan in the seventh, followed by Ambati Rayudu (4) to the same man a couple of overs later, at 42. CSK struggled to build partnerships, as just 19 runs later, Dhoni (12) was played on by spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the 12th.

Nevertheless, a 67-run stand followed between Faf du Plessis (76) and Ravindra Jadeja (15*). At the same time, the former scored his 21st IPL half-century in the process before falling to seamer Mohammed Shami in the final over, as CSK finished at 134/6.

PBKS put six bowlers into the attack. While Arshdeep and Jordan claimed a couple each, Shami and spinner Harpreet Brar were the most economical of all.

As PBKS came out for the chase, it made its intent clear to get the job done as soon as possible. Although it lost Mayank Agarwal (12) and Sarfaraz Khan (0) in the PP off pacer Shardul Thakur with 46 runs on the board, Rahul (98*) hardly panicked and continued his onslaught along with the incoming batters.

It was 34 runs later, in the ninth over, when pacer Deepak Chahar dismissed Shahrukh Khan (8). However, it was followed by a 46-run stand between Rahul-Aiden Markram (13) before Markram fell to Thakur in the 13th, at 126.

However, it was too late as Rahul hit the winning runs off a six in the 13th over Thakur, thus getting the job done by seven wickets, with 48 balls to spare. With this win, PBKS has jumped to the fifth spot and would hope for Rajasthan Royals (RR) to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by a considerable margin in the game to follow.

For CSK, Thakur had the most success of the five bowlers, claiming three, while pacer Josh Hazlewood was the most economical.
Brief scores: CSK 134/6 (Du Plessis- 76; Jordan- 2/20) lost to PBKS 139/4 in 13 overs (Rahul- 98; Thakur- 3/28) by seven wickets.