Chennai Super Kings captain Ravindra Jadeja admitted that they conceded 10-15 extra runs against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday after they lost by 11 runs. PBKS posted a par score of 187 runs after Jadeja decided to put them in to bat after winning the toss.
Shikhar Dhawan was the star of the show as he laid the foundation of a big score with a fine 59-ball 88-run knock. Dhawan added a crucial alliance of 110 runs with Bhanuka Rajapaksha for the second wicket. In fact, Rajapaksha, who was making a return to the playing XI, had the rub of the green on his side as Chennai bungled their chances.
With the help of a settled Shikhar Dhawan at the crease and a fine little cameo of 9-ball 17 by Liam Livingstone, PBKS were able to add 40 runs in the last 16 balls of their innings. It was a two-paced deck and it was not easy for a new batter to hit the ground running and thus Dhawan’s knock was the difference between the two teams. In fact, the teams which have batted first at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai have won all the last five matches at the venue.
On the other hand, CSK could only manage 32-2 in the PowerPlay overs, which put them on the backfoot in the run chase. Ambati Rayudu scored his first fifty of the season as he raced to 39-ball 78 but Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t add the finishing touches as he scored 21 from 16 balls.
Arshdeep Singh was right on the money as he conceded five and eight runs in the 17th and 19th over respectively. Furthermore, Kagiso Rabada also gave away only six runs in the 18th over and also accounted for a well-settled but a tired Ambati Rayudu.
Ravindra Jadeja said after the game while speaking to the official broadcasters, “We started off very well, we felt we gave away 10-15 runs extra at the end. We did not execute our plans very well. He [Rayudu] was batting brilliantly, throughout but as I said earlier, if we could’ve restricted them to under 175 it would’ve been good. We are not getting good starts in the first 6 overs, that’s where we are lacking and hopefully, we will come back stronger.”
Chennai has only managed two wins in their eight matches and they have been struggling to find winning impetus. CSK will play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday at the MCA, Pune.
