Punjab lose to Dhoni-led CSK

KXIP made no changes to their playing eleven.

CSK made three changes to their playing (Mork)eleven – Albie, Shadab Jakati and Sudeep Tyagi made way for Manpreet Gony, Ravichandran Ashwin and Thilan Thushara.

On winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of CSK’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 50, and lost a wicket.

CSK’s openers put on 40. George Bailey, whose 12-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 15. Twenty-nine balls into the match, Yuvraj Singh, KXIP’s skipper, ran him out.

CSK scored 50 off 5.4 overs (34 balls). KXIP hadn’t conceded any extras at that point.

Parthiv Patel, whose 23-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, scored 32. A dozen balls after Bailey’s dismissal, he was caught by Ramesh Powar, who broke the 14-run stand.

Subramaniam Badrinath, who faced nine balls, scored just four. Sixteen balls later, he was caught by Irfan Pathan. Sreesanth broke the 14-run stand.

Dhoni, who faced a couple of balls, scored as many. A couple of balls later, Sreesanth broke the run-a-ball stand.

Ten overs into the match, the drinks break was taken. CSK had scored 70 for the loss of four wickets at that point. While Suresh Raina was batting on 15, Jacob Oram hadn’t opened his account.

Raina, whose 21-ball (Wilk)innings included a couple of boundaries, eventually scored 20. Twenty-two balls after Dhoni’s dismissal, he was caught by Brett Lee. Mota broke the 17-run stand.

Although his five-ball innings included a six, Gony had no reason to be in seventh heaven – seven balls (Chaw)later, Piyush broke the nine-run stand.

CSK scored 100 off 16 overs (96 balls). KXIP had conceded three extras at that point.

Oram, whose 21-ball innings included a boundary, eventually scored 17. Eighteen balls after Gony’s dismissal, he was caught by Pathan, who broke the nine-run stand.

Ashwin, whose 15-ball innings included a boundary, scored just eight. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Luke Pomersbach. Pathan broke the four-run stand.

The ninth-wicket pair put on five. Thushara, who faced five balls, scored a run. Ten balls later, Simon Katich and Kumar Sangakkara ran him out.

Lakshmipathy Balaji, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a couple. He was unbeaten, as was Muttiah Muralitharan, the player of the match, who faced a ball, scoring a run.

The number of extras they eventually conceded gave KXIP no reason to be in seventh heaven. CSK scored 116 for the loss of nine wickets off 20 overs.

Lee bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 16.

Chawla and Mota bowled a couple of overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 13, the latter conceded eight.

Powar bowled four overs, conceding 19. He picked up a wicket.

Pathan and Sreesanth bowled four overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 32, the latter conceded 23.

The first Powerplay of KXIP’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 29, and lost a wicket.

Sunny Sohal, who faced nine balls, scored just three. (Pat)Eleven balls into the chase, he was caught behind. Thushara broke the six-run stand.

Katich, whose 13-ball innings included a boundary, scored eight. Thirty balls later, Muralitharan broke the 26-run stand.

Ten overs into the chase, the drinks break was taken. KXIP had scored 42 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. While Pomersbach was batting on 25, Yuvraj had scored three.

Pomersbach, whose 32-ball innings included a boundary and a six, eventually scored 26. Twenty-six balls after Katich’s dismissal, he was caught by Raina. Muralitharan broke the 13-run stand.

Yuvraj, who faced 19 balls, scored just half-a-dozen. Nine balls later, Raina broke the four-run stand.

KXIP scored 50 off 13.1 overs (79 balls). CSK had conceded four extras at that point.

Sangakkara, who faced nine balls, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – 15 balls later, he was caught by Ashwin, who broke the 10-run stand.

Mota, who faced 10 balls, scored just five. A couple of balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Ashwin, who broke the one-run stand.

Although his innings included a boundary, Lee had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored half-a-dozen. Eight balls later, he was caught by Oram. Needless to say, Raina was in seventh heaven.

Pathan, whose 12-ball innings included a boundary, scored 14. A dozen balls later, he was caught by Oram. Thushara broke the 16-run stand.

Chawla, who faced four balls, scored as many. He was unbeaten, as was Powar, who had no reason to be in seventh heaven, despite the fact that his five-ball innings included a boundary.

CSK eventually conceded half-a-dozen extras. KXIP, who scored 92 for the loss of eight wickets off 20 overs, lost by 24 runs.

Balaji and Gony scored a couple of wicketless overs apiece. While the former conceded 14, the latter conceded nine.

Thushara, Raina, Ashwin and Muralitharan bowled four overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. They scored 28, 17, 13 and eight, respectively.