Iyer’s fifty powers Punjab Kings past Chennai Super Kings by five wickets

Shreyas Iyer’s half-century guided Punjab Kings to a five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a high-scoring IPL match. Despite Ayush Mhatre’s 73, CSK’s 209 proved insufficient as Punjab chased down the target comfortably

Chennai: Skipper Shreyas Iyer’s half-century, marked by elegance and aggression in equal measure, was the centrepiece in Punjab Kings’ five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match here on Friday.

Shreyas (50, 29 balls) and his 59-run alliance with Nehal Wadhera for the fourth wicket helped Punjab end up at 210 for five while chasing a competitive 209 on a dew-less Chepauk night, also consigning the hosts to their second successive defeat.

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It was Punjab’s second win on the trot, but there were other heroes too on the night for PBKS.

Chasing a target at a run-rate close to 11 required consistent and calm run-making, and that was what PBKS did through their top order, with almost everyone chipping in.

Priyansh Arya (39, 11 balls), Prabhsimran Singh (43, 34 balls), and Cooper Connolly (36, 22 balls) all came up with notable contributions.

Arya was quite brutal while attacking the CSK attack. Khaleel Ahmed was hit for a four and a six, while Matt Henry was struck for 4, 6, 4 in his first over that leaked 20 runs.

Arya and Prabhsimran added 61 runs in just 4.2 overs, giving a clear indication of the course the match was taking.

The Delhi batter was cleaned up by Henry to give some relief to CSK, but none was more significant in PBKS’s march than their skipper Shreyas, who played a wide range of shots.

Shreyas started a bit slow, reaching 8 off 9 balls, as Connolly was doing most of the scoring. But once the Australian fell to Anshul Kamboj, Shreyas took control of the chase.

As expected, he attacked the spinners, and the shot of the innings was an inside-out six off leg-spinner Rahul Chahar.

Shreyas brought up his fifty in 26 balls with a boundary off Kamboj, but soon fell to the bowler while chasing a wide delivery.

Wadhera fell off the first ball of the next over to Henry as PBKS slipped to 186 for five from 186 for three.

However, that proved a minor setback.

Earlier, Ayush Mhatre showcased his talent with a 43-ball 73, powering the Super Kings to a competitive 209 for five.

Mhatre and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (28) added 96 runs for the second wicket after Devon Conway returned to the pavilion early.

Conway moved towards the leg side and tried to play Xavier Bartlett’s outswinger over covers, but edged it to Prabhsimran behind the wicket.

But his dismissal proved a minor setback, as Mhatre took apart Punjab’s bowling with power and precision.

Pacer Bartlett suffered early as Mhatre hit him for three fours in a row — a loft through mid-wicket, a flick and a pull. His aggressive approach helped CSK reach 57 for one in the Power Play.

Mhatre seemed to have overcome, at least for now, his issues against short-pitched balls, as the Mumbai youngster later pulled Marco Jansen for a six.

Mhatre also hit Marcus Stoinis for two sixes in a row, both down the ground, and the first maximum brought up his fifty in 29 balls.

But he struggled against the guile of Yuzvendra Chahal, failing to read him well.

The veteran leg-spinner troubled Mhatre, 17 years younger to him, with a series of googlies, but luck was not in favour of the bowler.

On 59, Mhatre was dropped by Vijayakumar Vyshak inside the circle and later on 67 by Shashank Singh in the deep.

But luck eventually ran out as Mhatre’s attempt to steer Vyshak ended in the hands of Chahal at short third man, as both got their share of success.

Gaikwad was dismissed by Chahal as CSK’s progress slowed between the 10th and 15th overs, managing just 45 runs.

Sarfaraz Khan (32, 12 balls) tried to add urgency to the CSK innings while playing his trademark shots for a flurry of boundaries.

But that knock, along with a few strong hits by Shivam Dube (45, 27 balls), helped CSK add 64 runs in the last five overs, but that proved insufficient.