Led by seasoned Harbhajan Singh, Chennai Super Kings spinners put on a dominating show to help the side reclaim the top position with a 22-run win over Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match on Saturday.
Defending 160 for three, CSK restricted Punjab to 138 for 5despite half centuries from KL Rahul (55) and Sarfaraz Khan (67).
The visitors scored at a low pace and required to score 26off the last over, bowled by IPL debutant Scott Kuggeleijn. The Kiwi pacemanhad no trouble defending those runs and also dismissed Sarfaraz.
Harbhajan was the best bowler for the hosts with the figuresof 4-1-17-2. In a brilliant spell, he bowled a maiden and grabbed two wickets,including that of the ‘universal boss’ Chris Gayle.
Ravindra Jadeja (4-0-24-0) and Imran Tahir (4-0-20-0) alsohelped CSK put the brakes on the rival batsmen. They, along with Harbhajan,conceded only 61 runs in 12 overs even as the required run-rate kept mounting.
Kuggeleijn did not start very well, being hit for a six offhis very first ball, but did well to finish with 2 for 37 in his 4 overs.
Harbhajan struck a huge blow to rivals by dismissing theGayle, having him caught behind by M S Dhoni for 5 in the second over.
Two balls later, he had the stylish Mayank Agarwal, caughtby Faf du Plessis near the boundary with the batsman going for a big hit.Harbhajan started off with a double wicket maiden to put Kings XI on thebackfoot early.
In the 13th over, Rahul’s missed sweep saw Dhoni flick theball on to the stumps but the bails didn’t come off though the LED lights litup, ensuring the batsman survived despite being short of his crease.
The centurypartnership for the third wicket between Rahul and Sarfaraz was a productiveone but they consumed a lot of balls and stymied the Kings XI chase as the CSKbowlers kept things tight.
Earlier, du Plessis hit a fine half-century up the orderwhile skipper Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu provided the late flourish to helpChennai Super Kings post a competitive 160 for three.
Du Plessis made 54 off 38 balls with the help of two foursand four hits over the fence and together with Shane Watson (26) added 56 runsfor the first wicket after opting to bat.
But it was some late hitting by Dhoni (37 not out) andRayudu (21 not out) and their unbeaten 60-run fourth wicket partnership in 30balls helped the defending champions reach a respectable total.
Thanks to Dhoni and Rayudu, CSK scored 52 runs in the lastfive overs after a rather quiet middle period.
Kings XI skipper Ravichandran Ashwin was the best bowler forthe visitors, picking up three wickets for 23 runs from his four overs. He wason a hat-trick in the 14th over after getting half-centurion Du Plessis andSuresh Raina off successive deliveries.
Watson fell against the run of play, attempting a big shotoff Kings XI captain Ashwin to be well caught by Sam Curran in the deep.
Raina (17), who came in at No.3, strung together an useful 44-run partnership with Du Plessis, who kept the scoreboard ticking with a mix of attacking shots and judicious running between the wickets.