IPL 2019: CSK vs KXIP - Hits and Flops 

Chennai Super Kings got back to the winning ways as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by 22 runs at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium of Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings won the toss on a hot afternoon and elected to bat first as expected. The current champions had a change in their batting order, sending in Faf du Plessis to open the innings along with Shane Watson. The CSK batting which started well was pulled off by economical spells from the Kings XI Punjab spinners. However, skipper MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu soon joined hands to take the score to 160 at the end of 20 overs.

Chasing the total, the visitors were troubled by the early departure of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal. However, the 110-run partnership between KL Rahul and Sarfraz Khan kept the scoreboard moving at pace. Scott Kuggeleijn brought CSK the breakthrough, bringing David Miller to the crease. But, the South African batsman couldn't do anything to get the team to the target. Things soon ended as KXIP ended with 138 runs on the board.

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#Hit - Faf du Plessis

Du Plessis scored 54 runs off 38 balls at a strike rate of 142

The South African batsman played a crucial anchor role throughout the Super Kings innings. Faf du Plessis made his first appearance this season against KXIP and was a much-needed change for the opening combination. Du Plessis scored 54 runs off 38 balls at a strike rate of 142 before falling prey to Ravichandran Ashwin.

Faf replaced Ambati Rayudu as the opener and succeeded with a 56 run partnership with Shane Watson. The CSK top-scorer had two boundaries and four sixes in his innings. With the 34-year old having found the rhythm with Watson, Dhoni will have one of his worries - the opening partnership, solved. The Watson-Rayudu combination that never really worked for CSK in the previous four matches was altered with du Plessis' selection. The change was effective as they recorded the highest opening partnership for Chennai in IPL 2019.

Without any doubt, it was his half-century knock that laid down CSK the platform for 160 runs in their 20 overs.

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#Hit - Harbhajan Singh

At an economy of just above 4, Harbhajan was Dhoni's trump card with the ball.

Harbhajan Singh literally won the game for CSK with the ball. Defending a total of 160, the right arm off-breaker was on point right from the beginning. In the very second over of the chase, he struck with two crucial wickets of Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal.

Later, the 38-year old spinner was called upon for his second spell in the 14th over and was impressive, conceding only 4 runs. He ended the match with figures of 4-17-2. At an economy of just above 4, Harbhajan was Dhoni's trump card with the ball.

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#Flop - Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle couldn't bring about any influence on the game as he was sent back to the pavilion for 5 runs by Harbhajan Singh

The big man was back into the KXIP lineup after missing the match against Delhi Capitals. However, Chris Gayle couldn't bring about any influence on the game as he was sent back to the pavilion for 5 runs by Harbhajan Singh. The West Indian batsman went for the big shot on a delivery outside the off-stump, only to edge the ball to MS Dhoni.

Chasing a score within the limits, Gayle was expected to play a sensible knock and stay in the middle for a longer time. But, the 39-year old failed at this and had to walk back on the 7th ball of his innings.

The opening batsman has had a good start to the season with a half-century already under his belt. Gayle currently has 144 runs scored from his 4 matches.

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#Flop - Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami

The match saw pacers from both the teams getting hit all over the park. However, Mohammed Shami had an additional role to play, which he failed to fulfill. Shami opened the bowling for Punjab and was successful in keeping the runs limited. But, an early expected breakthrough didn't come from him.

The right arm pacer continued in the third over, only to concede 16 runs. The 54-run CSK Powerplay had a lot to do with these figures. Shami was again called upon for closing down the things. However, Rayudu and Dhoni got the better of him as the final over got expensive with 14 runs.

Though Shami was bowling to two settled batsmen, he could have put up a better death over. The short-pitched deliveries, if avoided, would have cut down 4-6 runs from the final over. Similarly, a better 3rd over would have kept the CSK total 8-12 runs shorter. Mohammed Shami ended the match conceding 41 runs from the 4 overs

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