A bout of flu forced Tushar Deshpande to miss out on Chennai Super Kings’ home fixture against Punjab Kings earlier in the week. But in the reverse fixture on May 5, the seasoned fast bowler returned to action in style and claimed two for 35 to guide CSK to a 28-run win and bring its Indian Premier League campaign back on track.
After CSK’s innings ended at 167 for 9, it did not seem to be a great total on the HPCA Stadium surface. However, Deshpande struck in his opening over, dismissing the in-form Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Russouw in a span of three deliveries. Punjab Kings could not recover thereon before finishing at 139 for 9.
Coming into the game, CSK’s bowling department had injury concerns with Deepak Chahar and Matheesha Pathirana out of action, but it managed to execute its plans to perfection as Simarjeet Singh — returning to competitive cricket after December 2022 — and Ravindra Jadeja (3 for 20) built on Deshpande’s fiery opening spell.
