Chennai ends 5-match losing streak against Punjab. Kolkata beats Lucknow to go top in IPL
DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Ravindra Jadeja put in an allround performance to help Chennai Super Kings beat Punjab Kings by 28 runs in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders scored big to defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs in the second game to go top of the points table.
Jadeja scored 43 runs off 26 balls to anchor Chennai’s innings to 167-9 and then took 3-20 in four overs to help restrict Punjab's chase to 139-9.
It was only Chennai’s second win in the last five games, and also ended its five-match losing streak against Punjab.
Put into bat, Chennai lost Ajinkya Rahane (9) early. Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell (30) put on 57 off 32 balls for the second wicket.
Wrist spinner Rahul Chahar then took 3-23 in four overs to restrict the visiting side. He dismissed Gaikwad and then big-hitting Shivam Dube for a golden duck.
Sam Curran dismissed Moeen Ali for 17 as Chennai was reduced to 101-5 in 12.4 overs.
Jadeja guided Chennai to a challenging total on a two-paced wicket. He hit three fours and two sixes, while Harshal Patel’s death spell didn’t allow excess run-scoring.
MS Dhoni batted at No. 9 — for the first time – and Patel bowled him for a golden duck.
In reply, Punjab’s top order crumbled. Tushar Deshpande dismissed Jonny Bairstow (7) and Rilee Rossouw for a three-ball duck in the space of four balls.
Impact player Prabhsimran Singh scored 30 off 23 balls, and along with Shashank Singh’s 20-ball 27 helped rebuild the innings from 9-2.
Jadeja didn’t allow the middle order to get away, sending back Singh as well as Curran (7).
Pacer Simarjeet Singh came on as impact sub and took 2-16 in three overs as Punjab’s chase never looked a threat.
Shardul Thakur and Mitchell Santner took a wicket each. Despite missing key bowlers, Chennai put in an all-round bowling performance to restrict the hosts.
Chennai moved up to third with 12 points, ahead of Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad on net run-rate. Punjab’s hopes of qualification took a blow. It's eighth in the 10-team league with eight points.
KOLKATA TOP
Sunil Narine continued his impressive batting form with a 39-ball 81 as Kolkata thrashed Lucknow.
Narine hit seven sixes and six fours, putting on 61 runs off 26 deliveries with fellow opener Phil Salt (32 off 14). The two-time champions reached 235-6 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first in Lucknow.
Impact player Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored 32, captain Shreyas Iyer hit 23 and Ramandeep Singh hit three sixes in his six-ball 25 not out. It was Kolkata’s sixth 200-plus total this season.
It was also the first 200-plus total at the Ekana International Stadium in the IPL.
However, the hosts failed to challenge and were bowled out for 137 runs in 16.1 overs.
Pacer Harshit Rana (3-24) and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy (3-30) combined for six wickets to run through Lucknow’s lineup.
Marcus Stoinis top scored with 36 off 21 balls, while skipper Lokesh Rahul made 25. They were the only batters to cross 20.
Andre Russell took 2-17, while Narine finished with 1-22 in four overs to round off another excellent outing.
Kolkata tops the table with 16 points from 11 games. Rajasthan Royals also has 16 points but is behind Kolkata on net run-rate.
Lucknow is fifth with 12 points.
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