The 23-year-old Ruturaj Gaekwad once again became the top performer of Chennai Super Kings as they wrested a nine-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in the 53rd match in Abu Dhabi and finished their IPL 2020 campaign in style.

It was Ruturaj Gaikwad’s third consecutive fifty and he was unbeaten with 62 off 49 deliveries. Chasing 154, Chennai had Gaekwad and Faf du Plessis (48) giving the team a flying start with an 82-run stand for the opening wicket. Later, Ambati Rayudu (30 not out) helped young Gaekwad finish the job with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, CSK won the toss and put KXIP to bat first. Punjab went through a batting collapse after a good start. Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 62 off 39 balls gave KXIP a late push to finish with 153/6.

CSK’s Lungi Ngidi had commendable bowling figures of 3/39 in four overs. He removed Punjab openers KL Rahul (29) and Mayank Agarwal (26) and later James Neesham (2). Shardul Thakur (1/27), Imran Tahir (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/17) picked up a wicket each.

The loss has spoiled Punjab’s dreams of making it to the play-offs as they have finished their campaign with only 12 points.

Meanwhile, CSK captain MS Dhoni has stated that he will not be retiring from IPL and will return the next season. Players from different teams were seen collecting a signed MS Dhoni jersey from him almost after every game in the second half of the Indian Premier League.

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Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings registered a stupendous 10-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in Dubai on October 4. In reply to Punjab’s 178/4, the men in yellow made 181/0 proving critics wrong.

Going by Chennai’s recent performances in chases, the match was not expected to go in its favour but CSK openers gave a rousing powerplay. Veterans Shane Watson (83 not out off 53 balls) and Faf du Plessis (83 off 53) produced the best first wicket partnership in IPL 2020 to script a magnificent victory for CSK, which had suffered a string of losses after the first win in this season.

Poor bowling added to Punjab’s woes as the Watson-Du Plessis partnership went berserk. Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell were unable to replicate their success in the opening spell and, except Ravi Bishnoi (yielding only 33 runs in his 4 overs), none of the Punjab bowlers looked like they could arrest the onslaught.

Punjab, which won the toss and elected to bat, made 178 runs helped by skipper KL Rahul’s 63 (52 balls) and Nicholas Pooran’s (33 off 17). However, Shardul Thakur’s brilliant bowling in the 18th over, when he took out Rahul and Pooran off successive deliveries, helped Chennai limit the KXIP total.

The Player of the Match title went to 39-year-old Shane Watson, who hit 11 boundaries and three sixes.

With a host of 30-plus players –, M.S. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu – the CSK team has been nicknamed the ‘Dad’s army’.

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Chennai lost Shane Watson (1) early; Faf du Plessis (22) then gave hope but was run out soon. CSK slumped to 42/4 when Ambati Rayudu (8) and Kedar Jadhav (3) left in quick succession. It was left to the captain to save his ship. The 72-run fifth-wicket partnership between Ravindra Jadeja (50 off 35) and Dhoni (47 off 36) renewed hope of a CSK and Dhoni magic. However, Jadeja’s exit extinguished the prospect of a last-minute win. CSK wound up at 157/5 in the face of SRH’s top-notch bowling especially from Afghan Rashid Khan (4-0-12-0).

Early in the match, the David Warner-led Sunrisers won the toss and decided to bat. Youngsters Priyam Garg (51 not out off 26 balls), Abhishek Sharma (31 off 24 balls) clinched the match for the team. SRH collected 53 runs in the last four overs to reach 164/5 in 20 overs.

Garg, a former U-19 captain, scored his maiden IPL half century and was crowned Player of the Match.

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Rajasthan Royals registered a comfortable 16-run win over mighty Chennai Super Kings in the Day 4 match in Sharjah on September 22, giving it a fantastic start in IPL 2020.

Batting first, RR was propelled forward by the half centuries of Sanju Samson (74 off 32 balls) and Steve Smith (69 off 47 balls) helping it score 216 for 7 in 20 overs. Samson’s blitzkrieg comprised 9 sixes and a four. For CSK, Sam Curran took 3 wickets yielding 33 runs.

Though Chennai Super Kings began well, it lost openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay in quick succession to RR spinners – Rahul Tetwatia and Shreyas Gopal – after getting off to a good start. Tetwatia picked up three wickets for RR, and clinched the match for it.

Faf du Plessis hit a 72 off 37 balls but it could not save CSK. Nor could Dhoni hat-trick of sixes in the final over.

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