Punjab Kings (PBKS) deepen the agony of CSK by handing them another defeat in IPL 2025. CSK have now lost 4 matches on the trot, and with this 18-run defeat, all of their defeats have come while chasing a target that can’t be overlooked. PBKS’ opener Priyansh Arya smashed a blazing maiden ton from absolute nowhere as his century proved to be the difference in the end.
PBKS’ new mindset with head coach Ricky Ponting & skipper Shreyas Iyer has brought in a spark to the team. PBKS haven’t had a memorable or we can say a tournament where they dictated the terms, like the 2014 edition, where they reached the finals. With the first half of the tournament inching closer, PBKS have now won 3 matches out of 4 and are looking a force to reckon with.
Priyansh Arya dazzles with maiden ton
It was a very rare sight that both PBKS & CSK named an unchanged playing 11. Priyansh Arya welcomed Khaleel Ahmed on very first ball with a six on deep backward point, and very next ball he was dropped by Khaleel, and who would have thought how costly that drop would be.
Priyansh Arya wasn’t bothered by the fall of wickets from the other end. The likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer & Marcus Stoinis got out on single-digit scores. Priyansh’s attitude and thinking were quite unusual, but PBKS got off to a flyer with 75-3 in powerplay overs.
In the 8th over, Ravichandran Ashwin got 2 scalps as Nehal Wadhera & Glenn Maxwell went for a bit blind slogging. Ashwin is a shrewd spinner who can play with batters’ mind, the way he foxed Maxwell with carrom ball and took a sharp reflex catch, it was magnificent. PBKS was in deep trouble with 83-5 at 8 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin got a brutal treatment in his last over as he got hit over the boundary rope thrice. Priyansh Arya showed no respect whatsoever to a veteran champion spinner which was mind boggling. It felt as if Priyansh Arya wanted to destroy the ego of the bowler; Pathirana in 13th over got smacked by him for 3 back to back huge sixes and then after that he struck a four and got to his ton.
Priyansh Arya got to his maiden IPL ton in just 39 balls and became 2nd cricketer in IPL 2025 after Ishan Kishan to smash a century. Priyansh, while playing the Delhi Premier League recently, had hit 6 sixes in an over. Priyansh though, was out on 103 runs in 42 balls but the way he clobbered the ball was unbelievable as those 9 sixes from his bat looked surreal.
Shashank Singh, along with Marco Jansen, got the score beyond 200 and were involved in 65 65-run partnership in 38 balls. CSK’s fielding was way more than sloppy, and bowlers got breakthroughs but weren’t able to contain the batters. PBKS notched up 219-6 with 55 coming from last 5 overs, and Shashank’s half-century added more flair to their batting lineup. CSK needed to register their record run chase, which wasn’t going to be an easy task.
Devon Conway’s fierce knock not enough with MS Dhoni’s powerful hits
CSK’s openers Devon Conway & Rachin Ravindra went unscathed in powerplay overs but managed 59 runs as they were perhaps short by another 20-25 runs. Glenn Maxwell was introduced in the powerplay overs as he generated a pretty good decent amount of angle. In the 7th over, Maxwell enticed Rachin to step down the track, and he missed it and was stumped.
Ruturaj Gaikwad needed to play a captain’s knock given the scenario, CSK requiring 159 runs to win from 13.3 overs. Lockie Ferguson in 8th over foxed Ruturaj Gaikwad with a short length ball, and he played a back-foot punch shot but couldn’t clear the cover fielder.
The impact player Shivam Dube, along with Conway stitched a partnership of 89 runs in 51 balls but attaining the required run rate was quite improbable with CSK needing 69 to win from 25 balls and MS Dhoni was on strike. He promoted himself at No.5 position but it required a Herculean effort
Devon Conway wasn’t able to smash boundaries. In one of the interviews, Conway had mentioned that his job in CSK is to bat deep and let rest bat according to the situation of the game. Devon Conway was forced to retire after 17.5 overs as Jadeja came in to bat. Devon Conway played a 69 runs knock in 49 balls but hit 6 fours and 2 sixes which were a bit less to the equation.
MS Dhoni though tried his best by smashing a flurry of back-to-back sixes to Lockie Ferguson on the last 2 balls of 18th over. CSK needed 43 runs to create history but it was next to impossible. In the last over, CSK needed 28 runs to win which meant a boundary every ball almost. A widish leg stump yorker got rid of MS Dhoni as Yuzvendra Chahal at fine leg took a spectacular catch.
MS Dhoni’s cameo of 27 runs in 12 balls showed glimpses of the old MS Dhoni, who used to be vintage. PBKS overcame MS Dhoni’s onslaught and won the match by 18 runs. The surface didn’t have much for the bowler, but the way Lockie, Arshdeep & Yash bowled wicket to wicket made life harder for the batters.
What lies ahead for PBKS & CSK
PBKS’ fans would be slightly disappointed given the fact that Yuzvendra Chahal was given a solitary over. Yuzvendra Chahal was not given the ball against Shivam Dube and Devon Conway, but that is quite undermining the confidence of the leggie. PBKS’ next match is against SRH on Saturday, 12th April, and another 2-3 victories on the bounce can take them one step closer to the play-offs.
CSK, on the other hand, need to pull their socks up as they are placed at 9th position on the points table with a NRR of -0.889. CSK needs the batter Ruturaj Gaikwad to spend some time in the crease and make his start count. CSK’s next clash is against KKR on 11th April in Chennai, and now they are slowly entering a situation of do or die, which is not a great sign at all.
Also Read:Â PBKS vs CSK: 3 Reasons For CSK’s Defeat Against PBKS