CSK vs PBKS, 49th Match at Chennai, IPL, May 01 2024 - Match Result

A thumping victory for PBKS who are somewhat turning into a bogey team for CSK. Three teams on 10 points in the middle, two on 12 and a few others lurking. The race to the playoffs spot is likely to get very close. It is going to be RR facing SRH tomorrow, and that promises to be another riveting clash. We'll be live nice and early, but till then, this is me Ashish Pant, signing off on behalf of Sreshth, Thilak and Raghav. Good night.

Harpreet Brar is the Player of the Match: It was a good wicket to bowl on. Even Rahul bowled very well. I have been playing for the last six years, and my confidence is also built up. I am playing with a lot of legends. I wanted to bowl on my strengths and the things happened. I don't think about wickets. My aim is to bowl lots of dot balls in my spell and the dot balls create the chances. When there is spin in the wicket, the bowler's confidence goes up

First up, the Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran Very happy. Anytime you come to Chennai and get two points, it is a huge feeling. Last year also we lostall our home games and won the away games. We are getting a hint of the formulas. Any team that can get momentum at the back-end is dangerous. We are quietly confident that we are coming up against them in a couple of days' time. [Toss] Pretty obvious, winning the toss was huge. KG Rabada set the tone wonderfully. We thought today we'll give him the new ball and he stormed in. [19th over to Chahar] Chahar has come back into the team really well. We tried something different in the 19th over. He showed confidence and to bowl to MS was great. The spinners were the pick of the bowlers. I bowled and got hit. The pace bowlers were going all the way, so thankfully it worked. This game is tough for the bowlers, we have got to be creative. [Next game also against CSK] We start 1-0 on them in a way. We had a tough early part. Trevs [Trevor Bayliss] is big on enjoying the win. Taking a lot of confidence. Winning helps with confidence. Jonny, KG, spinners were great

Presentation time

Sachin Garg: "Jam in the middle of the points table! Interesting phase to start now .. from CSK to PBKS ... a win here and there is going to cause a huge difference and yes...don't forget NRR!"

Stat alert: Punjab Kings are the second team to defeat Chennai Super Kings in five consecutive matches in the IPL. Mumbai Indians won five in a row vs CSK between 2018 and 2019.

Rilee Rossouw: We have to give credit to the bowlers. 160 was very gettable on that pitch. Jonny played well tonight, hope he takes that form into the tournament and gives us a good start. [Spin twins] We have that arsenal, the spin twins as well call them. They have been really really good. [Conversation with Bairstow] Pretty simple, just see the ball and hit the ball. Two batsman out there, playing with the freedom. [Reaction after getting out] Full toss wouldn't you be? Just focused in the zone, when the bad ball comes, was gutted to miss out. [Playoffs?] Never over till it's over. We have the belief that we can make the playoffs. Hopefully we can turn things around

Ruturaj Gaikwad: 50-60 runs short to be honest. When we were batting first, the pitch wasn't great, plus the dew as well. [Toss] I have practised a lot. I have tossed it in the match. I am winning in the practice, but not winning in the match. What to do. I am really under pressure at the toss, not at the game. [Dew] Very difficult. Even last game, we were quite surprised that we would win by that much margin. This is something we can't control. We can slightly bat better in the first innings. In the last 2 games, we tried our best to get 200-210. This pitch it was tough to get 180. [No Pathirana, Deshpande] It is a real problem. There are phases you want to get a wicket, and you have only two bowlers, plus the spinners are out of the question because of the dew. Can't do much.

11.27pm That is as comfortable a win for PBKS as any they've had this season. The win was set-up wonderfully well by the bowlers, who restricted CSK to just 162 for 7. In reply, Gleeson got the ball to move around early and snapped up Prabhsimran Singh. But once the dew settled in, bowling became trickier. Jonny Bairtow got into his stride and so did Rilee Rossouw with the duo adding 64 off 37 for the second wicket. Rossouw and Shashank Singh also had a quick stand before Curran and Shashank finished things off in the 18th over.

Two to win

Three needed off 15 balls

Shyam: "@Ujjwal: you are proving my point. Five 10 run win can be undone by one 50 run loss in NRR. So NRR doesn't reward consistency. Look at LSG and their NRR for example."

Free-hit

Gleeson back. Last over of the chase?

Ujjwal: "@Shyam - NRR is more to do with consistency throughout the season and not just one match which is more fair than bonus point."

Nitin: "Yes, Bonus system will make it more interesting. BBL, 10 over ahead rule also looks good. "

Shyam: "I like bonus point system better. It rewards teams for big wins but doesnt penalize team for a loss. Now that there are 10 teams for 4 spots, do you think there is room for a change in point system? thoughts?" Agree