YUZVENDRA CHAHAL took a hat-trick and Shreyas Iyer scored 72 as Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by four wickets in the IPL on Wednesday, officially knocking Chennai out of the playoff race.
Chennai, five-time IPL champions, were bowled out for 190 in 19.2 overs after Sam Curran scored 88 off 47 balls. Punjab chased down the target with two balls remaining to record their sixth win of the season.
Punjab captain Iyer made 72 off 41 balls and shared a 72-run stand with impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh, who hit 54.
"I love chasing on any field," said player of the match Iyer."I feel like I thrive whenever there is a big total on the board and you need to take the charge and momentum for the team for the rest of the batters to come and go full throttle."
Punjab moved to second place in the 10-team standings as they aim for their first IPL title. Chennai, at the bottom of the table with eight losses in 10 matches, are now out of the playoff race.
Punjab appeared in control of the chase, even after the dismissals of Prabhsimran and Nehal Wadhera reduced them to 136-3 in the 15th over. Iyer and Shashank Singh, who made 23, added valuable runs.
Iyer was bowled by Matheesha Pathirana with three runs needed from eight balls. In the final over, the dismissal of Suryansh Shedge with one required and a dot ball raised tension at Chepauk, but Marco Jansen inside-edged Khaleel Ahmed for four to seal the win.
Chahal’s four wickets in the penultimate over of Chennai's innings were crucial. He claimed the IPL’s first hat-trick since 2023, ending the innings with figures that helped bowl out the hosts before the final over.
Chennai had earlier lost three wickets in the powerplay, including Ravindra Jadeja for 17. Curran and Dewald Brevis added 78 for the fourth wicket.
Brevis made 32 before being bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai. Curran reached his fifty and hit nine fours and four sixes before falling to Marco Jansen. His 88 was Chennai’s highest individual score of the season.
Chahal dismissed MS Dhoni after being hit for a six. He then removed Deepak Hooda, Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmad to complete his second IPL hat-trick and the 23rd in the league’s history.
"It was the first time we put enough runs on the board," said Chennai skipper MS Dhoni."But was it a par score? I feel slightly short. Yes, a bit demanding from the batters but I feel we could've got slightly more."
(With inputs from agencies)
(Photo credit: PTI)
