In the last edition, Chennai Super Kings entered the playoffs despite losing three matches on the trot. But M.S. Dhoni’s men got their act right when it mattered, and regained the IPL Trophy.
This time, the defending champion has suffered an unprecedented hat-trick of losses at the start of the league. With Ravindra Jadeja at the helm and the available resources at hand, the team faces a challenge like never before.
Decisive role
After the batters of Kolkata Knight Riders in the campaign-opener and debutant Lucknow Super Giants laid Super Kings low, it was the turn of the Punjab Kings bowlers to play a decisive role in inflicting a big 54-run defeat at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.
The anticipated run-feast never materialised once Super Kings began the chase poorly. One man who played the key role for Kings was Englishman Liam Livingstone. The ‘Man-of-the-Match’ flattened Super Kings twice, first with the bat and then with the ball.
Walking in to face the ninth ball of the innings with Kings at 14 for two, Livingstone launched a brutal counter-attack with a 32-ball 60 with five sixes and as many boundaries. He was particularly severe on the young left-arm new-ball bowler Mukesh Choudhary who conceded 44 runs in the PowerPlay, including 26 off the eight-ball fifth over.
After Super Kings clawed back by conceding just 38 runs in the last six overs — to make amends for the 72 conceded in the PowerPlay — and managed to keep Kings to 180, Liamstone was to prove that he was not done yet.
Just when the belligerent Shivam Dube and Dhoni were in the process of salvaging some pride for Super Kings after joining hands at 36 for five in the eighth over, Livingstone dealt two successive blows to hasten the end.
Bowling his innocuous looking leg-spinners, Livingstone foxed Dube and induced a miscued heave.
Off the next ball, Livingstone brought off a stunning one-handed catch to send back Dwayne Bravo.
Thereafter, the crowd looked up to Dhoni for some fireworks but he too departed soon for a 28-ball 23.
Before Rahul Chahar picked up three lower-order wickets, debutant pacer Vaibhav Arora, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Odean Smith sent back the top-five Super Kings batters.
Scoreboard
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal c Uthappa b Mukesh Choudhary 4 Shikhar Dhawan c Ravindra Jadeja b DJ Bravo 33 Bhanuka Rajapaksa run out (Chris Jordan/Dhoni) 9 Liam Livingstone c Rayudu b Ravindra Jadeja 60 Jitesh Sharma c Uthappa b Pretorius 26 Shahrukh Khan c Pretorius b Chris Jordan 6 Odean Smith c DJ Bravo b Chris Jordan 3 Kagiso Rabada not out 12 Rahul Chahar c DJ Bravo b Pretorius 12 Vaibhav Arora not out 1 Extras: (LB-1, W-13) 14
Total: (8 wkts, 20 Overs) 180
Fall of Wickets: 1-4, 2-14, 3-109, 4-115, 5-146, 6-151, 7-161, 8-176.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Mukesh Choudhary 4-0-52-1, Chris Jordan 4-0-23-2, Dwayne Bravo 3-0-32-1, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-34-1, Dwaine Pretorius 4-0-30-2, Mooen Ali 1-0-8-0.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Robin Uthappa c Mayank b Vaibhav 13 (10b, 2x4), Ruturaj Gaikwad c Dhawan b Rabada 1 (4b), Moeen Ali b Vaibhav 0 (2b), Ambati Rayudu c Jitesh b Smith 13 (21b, 2x4), Ravindra Jadeja b Arshdeep 0 (3b), Shivam Dube c Arshdeep b Livingstone 57 (30b, 6x4, 3x6), M.S. Dhoni c Jitesh b Rahul Chahar 23 (28b, 1x4, 1x6), Dwayne Bravo c & b Livingstone 0 (1b), Dwaine Pretorius c Arshdeep b Rahul Chahar 8 (4b, 1x6), Chris Jordan c Livingstone b Rahul Chahar 5 (5b), Mukesh Choudhary (not out) 2 (2b); Extras (w-2, nb-2): 4; Total (in 18 overs) 126.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-10 (Ruturaj, 1.6), 2-14 (Uthappa, 2.2), 3-22 (Moeen, 4.4), 4-23 (Jadeja, 5.3), 5-36 (Rayudu, 7.3), 6-98 (Dube, 14.5), 7-98 (Bravo, 14.6), 8-107 (Pretorius, 15.5), 9-121 (Dhoni, 17.1).
PUNJAB KINGS BOWLING
Vaibhav 4-0-21-2, Rabada 3-0-28-1, Arshdeep 2-0-13-1, Smith 2-0-14-1, Rahul Chahar 4-0-25-3, Livingstone 3-0-25-2.
