IPL 2018, CSK vs KXIP: 4 Reasons why Punjab lost against Chennai

It was the last encounter of the league stages of this year’s IPL as the Chennai Super Kings hosted the Kings XI Punjab at Pune. Punjab needed to win the contest by a big margin to qualify for the playoffs. M.S Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first.

Punjab got off to the worst possible start as they lost their top order with just 16 runs on the board. A sensible partnership between Manoj Tiwary and David Miller got things back on track. Some lusty blows by Karun Nair at the end got them to a score of 153 runs.

In reply, Chennai too had a horrible start as they lost 3 wickets with just 27 runs on the board. Punjab was blown away by Deepak Chahar who surprised everyone with his big hitting. A sensible knock from Mr. IPL Suresh Raina saw Chennai home with 5 balls to spare. Let us have a look at the 4 reasons why Punjab lost the contest.

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#1 Big stars fail to fire

The Kings XI needed to win by a margin of a minimum of 53 runs to qualify for the playoffs. To do that, they needed a big score on the board. A lot was expected from their power heavy top order but they failed miserably.

The Universe Boss Chris Gayle departed for a duck in the 2nd over of the innings. Punjab’s talisman K.L Rahul shouldered arms to a Lungi Ngidi delivery but the ball came in sharply after pitching and Rahul was sent back to the hurt.

Aaron Finch too had an off day as he could only muster 4 runs before edging a Deepak Chahar delivery to Suresh Raina at slips. This poor start was a big factor in Punjab’s defeat.

#2 Dream spell from Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi has impressed everyone with his bowling this season. The South African was again on the mark today as he delivered a dream spell conceding just 10 runs and picking up 4 wickets.

Ngidi got his spell going by dismissing Chris Gayle through a faint tickle down the leg side. In his next over, he got the big fish K.L Rahul. Ngidi outfoxed the Punjab opener as he bowled 2 outswingers and followed it with a sharp inswinger.

Rahul shouldered arms thinking that it was an away swinger, only to see his stumps being rattled. Ngidi then wrapped up the tail by picking up Ravi Ashwin and Andrew Tye in his last over to finish with the match-defining figures of 4/10.

#3 Deepak Chahar’s vital cameo

In a move that shocked everybody, Deepak Chahar was sent above Dhoni, Bravo and Jadeja after the fall of a 4th wicket in the 11th over. What seemed to be a blunder turned out to be a masterstroke as Chahar provided the much-needed momentum to Chennai’s innings.

With 73 needed of the last 6 overs, Chahar launched into Ashwin, depositing him for 2 huge sixes and a four in the 15th over. He wasn’t done there as he then smashed Axar Patel for a six in the next over. His 20 ball 39 brought the required run rate down and got Chennai back into the match.

#4 Off day for Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye has been Ashwin’s go-to bowler this season. His subtle variations to go along with the knuckleball has had the batsmen in trouble. He has the most wickets in the IPL this season.

However, Tye failed to come up with the goods today. Ashwin threw the ball to Tye in the 4th over but the Australian struggled with his length and was dispatched for a couple of boundaries. With 23 runs needed of the last 2 overs, all eyes were on Tye as he was to bowl the crucial penultimate over.

However, Tye was smashed out of the park by Suresh Raina who blasted 22 runs of that over. His wicketless spell was a big reason for Punjab’s loss.