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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Rajasthan Royals scored a seven-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the 50th Dream 11 IPL match in Abu Dhabi on October 30 night.

KXIP firebrand Chris Gayle’s powerful 99 (63 balls), which gave Punjab to a formidable total of 185/4, went in vain as RR made four successful partnerships to chase the target. His 120-run second-wicket partnership with skipper KL Rahul (46 off 41) was the cornerstone of Punjab’s total.

Gayle reached his half-century off 28 balls. KXIP had an early blow when Jofra Archer dismissed opening batsman Mandeep Singh striking in his first over.

RR’s chase saw Ben Stokes giving a good start with a half century that put 60 runs on the board before the team lost their first wicket to Chris Jordan. Sanju Samson (48 off 25) added 51 with Robin Uthappa, and 34 with captain Steve Smith (31 off 20) before he was run out. Jos Buttler gave the finishing touches for the victory with an unbeaten 41-run stand with Smith. Chris Jordan bowled a wide which sealed the RR win.

Stokes was declared Man of the Match (2/32 and 50 off 26).Rajasthan has a slim chance of qualifying to the last four with this win. At No. 4 on the table, Punjab’s chances are unaffected by the loss (12 points from 13 matches).

Chris Gayle was fined 10% of his match fee for beaching IPL’s Code of Conduct when he threw his bat in frustration after being dismissed for 99 by Jofra Archer.

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Kings XI Punjab lost to Kolkata Knight Riders at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 10 night with a fine margin of two runs. This was Punjab’s fifth straight defeat and sixth overall leaving them at the bottom of the table.

Requiring 14 from the last over, KXIP’s Glenn Maxwell tried to save his team with a few boundaries but they fell short by 2 runs.

Captain KL Rahul anchored the Punjab innings with 74 from 58 deliveries (six boundaries). It was his third half-century of the season and 19th in his IPL career. Mayank Agarwal scored 56 from 39 balls.

Earlier, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik and Shubnam Gill scored half-centuries to help the team post 164 for 6. It was Karthik’s first 50 of the season, while Gill scored his second 50 this edition. That saw the two-time winners.

Man of the Match Karthik’s 58 came from 29 balls (eight boundaries and two sixes), while Gill’s 57 came from 47 deliveries and had five boundaries.

For KKR, Prasid Krishna took three wickets and Sunil Narine two. Narine however was reported for suspected illegal bowling action. The Trinidadian off-spinner, as per the rules, will now be placed on the Warning List but will be permitted to continue to bowl in the tournament.

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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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Mumbai Indians scored a convincing 48-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in Dream 11 IPL’s Match 13 at Abu Dhabi. With this, Mumbai has bounced back to head the points table.
After being sent in to bat first, MI posted 191 for 4. In reply, KXIP could score only 143 for the loss of 8 wickets.
Kings XI Punjab, playing for the first time in Abu Dhabi, had won the toss and captain K.L. Rahul opted to bowl.

Punjab’s heroes in the previous match could not replay their magic with the bat. Nicholas Pooran alone played a handsome 44 while Mayank Agarwal was dismissed for 25 by Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul for 17 by legspinner Chahar.

MI’s Rahul Chahar (2/26), Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) and James Pattinson (2/28) got two wickets each.

MI skipper Rohit Sharma top-scored with 70 (eight boundaries and three sixes), reaching 5,000 runs in IPL. Kieron Pollard (47* off 20, three fours and four sixes) and Hardik Pandya (30* off 11) had a 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Pollard was declared Man of the match for his quick-fire shots.

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K.L. Rahul, the Kings XI Punjab skipper, smashed an unbeaten 132 off just 69 deliveries – the first century of the 2020 season and the highest in IPL by an Indian so far – to help his team post a massive 206 for 3 and a 97-run win.

The Karnataka batsman also recorded the highest score ever by a captain in the IPL, and broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest Indian to reach 2,000 IPL runs, achieving the feat in 60 innings compared to Tendulkar’s 63 innings.

India as well as RCB captain Virat Kohli dropped Rahul twice – on 83 and again on 89 one over later – in the match in Dubai on September 24. Rahul, who hit 14 fours and seven sixes in his blistering attack, was adjudged player of the match. For RCB, Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets for 31 runs and Murugan Ashwin 3 for 21.

Kohli, who elected to bowl after winning the toss, acknowledged that he did not have the “best day of the office”. While he was dismissed for 1, his team was packed off for 109 in 17 overs.

Dean Jones’ death

The game started on a sombre note on account of the sudden death of Australian batsman and cricket commentator Dean Jones, who had been covering the IPL tournament from Mumbai, from a heart attack.
Players from both teams wore black armbands to honour Jones and in a pre-match show, fellow commentator and Australian Brett Lee praised the late 59-year-old as an “absolute legend”.

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On-field umpire Nitin Menon had called a one-short when Chris Jordan and Mayank Agarwal ran two in the penultimate over of a tense chase, before replays emerged that Jordan had in fact made it to the crease.

The game eventually went into a Super Over where Delhi Capitals won.

Kings XI co-owner Preity Zinta seemed furious with the decision and the Bollywood actress took to Twitter to share her insights on the incident. In her tweet, Zinta called out to BCCI asking the board to implement new rules in the sport, so these errors are avoided in the near future.

“I travelled enthusiastically during a pandemic,did 6 days of Quarantine & 5covid tests with a smile but that one Short Run hit me hard. What’s the point of technology if it cannot be used? It’s time @BCCI introduces new rules. This cannot happen every year,” she wrote in a tweet.

I travelled enthusiastically during a pandemic,did 6 days of Quarantine & 5covid tests with a smile but that one Short Run hit me hard. What’s the point of technology if it cannot be used? It’s time @BCCI introduces new rules.This cannot happen every year. #DCvKXIP @lionsdenkxip https://t.co/uNMXFJYfpe

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) September 21, 2020

Preity was reacting to Virender Sehwag’s tweet which said that the umpire should have been awarded the Man of the Match for his short-run decision. Sehwag’s former teammates Irfan Pathan and Aakash Chopra also shared similar opinion regarding the decision.

She then went on to stress that she’s moving on from the past and remaining positive.

“I’ve always believed in being graceful in a win or loss & in the spirit of the game but it’s also important to ask for policy changes that improve the game in the future for everyone. The past has happened and it’s imp to move on. So Looking ahead & being positive as always.”

I’ve always believed in being graceful in a win or loss & in the spirit of the game but it’s also important to ask for policy changes that improve the game in the future for everyone. The past has happened and it’s imp to move on. So Looking ahead & being positive as always 👍

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) September 21, 2020

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In the second match of IPL 2020 at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Delhi Capitals pulled off a convincing win over Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over after the match went into a tie. DC won the cliffhanger by 2 wickets with four balls remaining.

Both teams had scored 157 each in the stipulated 20 overs, taking the match towards a Super Over – an additional over of 6 balls each to determine the winner in case of a tie.

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was adjudged Man of the Match for his scintillating 53 off 21 balls. He also claimed 2 wickets yielding 29 runs.

Earlier in the day, KXIP, led by their new captain KL Rahul, won the toss and sent DC, captained by Shreyas Iyer, to bat.

For Kings XI, Mayank Agarwal scored 89 off 60 balls. After opening the KXIP innings with KL Rahul, Mayank was finally dismissed in the final over by Marcus Stoinis.

Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc on the Punjab middle-order by dismissing Nair and Pooran in the sixth over of the innings with two beautiful deliveries. But the joy was short-lived as Ashwin hurt his right shoulder while trying to field off his final ball, raising doubts about his fitness for the rest of the tournament. DC Fast-bowler Mohammed Shami claimed 3 for 15.

South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada dismissed Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran in the Super Over, giving the Delhi Capitals a target of three runs off six balls. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer achieved the formalities for Delhi Capitals giving it a winning start.

Fantasy cricket league platform Dream11 is the title sponsor for IPL 2020, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Chinese smartphone-makers Vivo suspended their contract for this year.

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