Sports Desk
8 April
Sandeep Dhand
Journalist & Research Analysist
In a thrilling IPL match today, Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by 18 runs in a high-scoring encounter played at their home ground. Chasing a massive target of 220 runs set by Punjab, Chennai could only manage 201 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Chennai’s chase was led by Devon Conway, who played a solid knock of 69 runs. Shivam Dube contributed 42 runs, while young all-rounder Rachin Ravindra added 36. Former captain MS Dhoni played a short but explosive innings, scoring 27 runs off just 12 balls, but the team fell short. For Punjab, Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 wickets and keeping things tight during the death overs.
Earlier, Punjab Kings put up a big total of 219 runs for 6 wickets after opting to bat first. The star of the innings was young opener Priyansh Arya, who smashed a brilliant century. He scored 103 runs from just 42 balls, hitting 7 fours and 9 sixes. Arya reached his century in only 39 balls, making it the fifth fastest hundred in IPL history. The record for the fastest IPL century still belongs to Chris Gayle, who reached the milestone in just 30 balls in 2013.
Apart from Arya, Shashank Singh played an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off 36 balls, while Marco Jansen chipped in with 34 runs from 19 balls without getting out. Chennai’s bowling was led by Khaleel Ahmed and Ravichandran Ashwin, both of whom picked up 2 wickets each but went for plenty of runs.
With this win, Punjab Kings added two more points to their tally, while Chennai Super Kings will now look to bounce back in their next match.