Chennai Super Kings bounced back to winning ways in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 on Saturday with a thumping 22-run victory over Kings XI Punjab at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Harbhajan Singh was named Man of the Match for his stellar effort with the ball as his double wicket maiden helped CSK defend a target of 161 runs comfortably. The veteran spinner was the pick of the bowlers for CSK as he returned with figures of 2/17 in his 4 overs.
Harbhajan later explained how he planned Gayle’s dismissal and what worked for him in the game. “I was just looking to bowl a little slower to Chris Gayle.
”The first couple of balls, I tried to push them in the air but it didn’t spin but the third or fourth ball I tried to give it a rip and it spun. That’s when it got in my mind that if I had to bowl slower to him, I had to bowl slow and wide.”
“This is T20 and it could have gone either way… I am glad I am here talking to you and got the man-of-the-match award,” he told the broadcasters after picking up his second MoM award this season. He had bagged the Man of the Match award in Chennai’s opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai with a brilliant spell as he accounted for the wickets of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali to script his side’s first win.
On Saturday, CSK posted 160/3 on the board in 20 overs with the help of Faf du Plessis’ 54 off 38 balls and a late flourish from MS Dhoni (37 off 23 balls). After being handed two quick blows early in the chase, KL Rahul (55) and Sarfraz Khan (67) put KXIP back in control. The duo posted a 110-run stand for the third wicket and it looked like it would be a comfortable chase before Rahul was dismissed by debutant Scott Kuggeleijn.
His dismissal came at the wrong time for KXIP as CSK bowlers pulled things back and went on the defend the target to clinch a 22-run victory. With eight points from five games, CSK are currently on top of the points table.
