IPL 2019: Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab

After suffering a setback against Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings welcomed a high flying Kings XI Punjab side to MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. The Chennai Super Kings batsmen justified their skipper's decision to bat first as they posted a respectable score of 160/3 in their allotted 20 overs, on the back of a superb half-century by Faf du Plessis and a quickfire innings by MS Dhoni.

Chasing 161 on a slow pitch, the Kings XI Punjab were restricted to just 138/5 despite fighting fifties from KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, thereby handing Chennai Super Kings their 4th win of IPL 2019.

With the match done and dusted, let's see how the players from both sides fared in this encounter.

Chennai Super Kings

Shane Watson- 4/10

Former Australian all-rounder, Shane Watson, once again got off to a good start but failed to carry on and was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin for 26.

Faf Du Plessis- 8/10

Playing his first game of IPL 2019, South African skipper Faf du Plessis scored a fine knock of 54 runs off 38 balls before ending up as one of the three victims of Ravichandran Ashwin.

Suresh Raina- 3/10

Raina's poor IPL 2019 continued as he too was sent back by Ravichandran Ashwin for just 17 off 20 balls.

MS Dhoni- 7/10

Dhoni bounced back superbly from a poor outing in the previous game against Mumbai Indians by providing the finishing touches to Chennai Super Kings with an unbeaten quickfire 37 runs from 23 balls to help Chennai post 160/3 in 20 overs. He was spot on with his bowling changes.

Ambati Rayudu- 5/10

Having been shunted down the batting order after poor performances as an opener, Ambati Rayudu scored an unbeaten 21 off 15 balls and provided a good supporting act to MS Dhoni in their unbroken 4th wicket partnership 60 in just 6.2 overs.

Kedar Jadhav- NA

Kedar Jadhav was a mere spectator on the field and did not get a chance to bat

Ravindra Jadeja- 6/10

Despite failing to pick up a wicket, Jadeja bowled an economical spell of 4-0-24-0.

Scott Kuggeleijn- 6/10

Playing his debut IPL game, Kuggleleijn bounced back after being taken to cleaners by Sarfaraz Khan in the starting two overs with a brilliant spell of death bowling and ended the match with the figures of 4-0-37-2.

Harbhajan Singh - 9/10

The veteran off-spinner had a great match as he bowled a fine spell of 4-0-17-2 to completely outfox the Kings XI Punjab batsmen

Deepak Chahar - 4/10

Deepak Chahar was the only Chennai bowler to have an off-day as he conceded 40 runs from his 4 overs but managed to take the important wicket of David Miller in the penultimate over.

Imran Tahir- 6/10

Just like his spin colleagues, Imran Tahir too was economical with the ball as he conceded just 20 runs in his 4 overs.

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Kings XI Punjab

Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a brilliant spell of 4-0-23-3. Photo Courtesy: BCCI

Chris Gayle- 1/10

Back in the team after recovering from an injury, Gayle failed with the bat as he was dismissed for just 5 runs by Harbhajan Singh.

KL Rahul - 7/10

After a loss of two early wickets, KL Rahul brought the Kings XI Punjab innings back on track with the help of Sarfaraz Khan and scored 55 off 47 balls but failed to win the game for Kings XI Punjab as he was dismissed in the 18th over of Punjab's chase by Scott Kuggleleijn.

Mayank Agarwal- 1/10

Agarwal did not have a great game as he played a poor shot to be dismissed for a duck off Harbhajan Singh's bowling.

Sarfaraz Khan- 7.5/10

The youngster was Kings XI Punjab's top scorer with 67 runs off 59 balls but just like KL Rahul, he failed to finish the match for Kings XI Punjab.

David Miller- 1/10

Miller flopped with the bat as he was dismissed for just 6 runs by Deepak Chahar.

Mandeep Singh- N/A

Mandeep Singh could do not do much in today's game as he came to bat when the match was already in the grasp of Chennai Super Kings and faced just one ball.

Sam Curran- 4/10

Hero of Kings XI Punjab win against Delhi Daredevils, Sam Curran, was taken for runs in his final over by MS Dhoni and ended the match with bowling figures of 4-0-35-0.

Ravichandran Ashwin- 9/10

The skipper was Kings XI Punjab's best bowler in today's match as he picked up all 3 Chennai Super Kings wickets to fall and conceded just 23 runs.

Andrew Tye- 1/10

Tye did not have a good outing with the ball as he bowled an expensive spell 4-0-38-0..

Mohammed Shami- 2/10

Shami too went for runs as he conceded 41 runs from his 4 overs and also failed to pick up a single wicket.

Murugan Ashwin- 5/10

Murugan Ashwin was once again effective with the ball as he bowled a tidy spell of 4-0-23-0.

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