Punjab power past Chennai

News

Cricket365
April 28, 2012

The Kings XI Punjab upstaged the Chennai Super Kings thanks to a seven-run victory in Saturday's 2012 Indian Premier League clash in Chepauk.

The defending champions proved largely inadequate with the bat and were left to rue Wriddhiman Saha's promotion up the order.

Chasing a testing target after a half-century from Mandeep Singh and a cavalier cameo from Shaun Marsh pushed the Punjab outfit to 156 for eight, Chennai enjoyed a fluid start on the back of Subramaniam Badrinath and Faf du Plessis' collective effort.

The duo struck 47 inside six overs for the first wicket and prompted a piece of experimentation from the home camp.

Sent in ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Albie Morkel and Dwayne Bravo, the right-handed Saha proved somewhat out of his depth, and scraped together just six runs from all of 14 deliveries.

His pedestrian effort left the remainder of the order with a lot to do, and the pressure ultimately tolled. Bravo did his utmost to keep his side in the hunt, but his 30 from 21 wasn't nearly enough.

Parvinder Awana's fourth and final over – the third-last of the innings – was particularly telling. The Indian seamer conceded a mere seven runs and, for his economical showing, all but sealed the deal for the Kings XI Punjab. Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, meanwhile, fetched figures three for 25.

Earlier the visitors managed to squander Man of the Match Mandeep and Marsh's hard work. Their 68-run partnership inside nine overs was laid to waste by an inconvenient wobble that saw five wickets fall during the final 20 deliveries of the innings.

Albie Morkel was the pick of the Chennai bowlers, finishing with figures of 29, while fellow seamer Bravo landed two for 28.

Saturday's result meant no movement in the nine-team standings, with the Super Kings still sitting at third and the Punjab franchise at eighth.