IPL: Chennai's thrilling victory, Kings XI Punjab out of the tournament

With the help of Rituraj Gaekwad's third half century in a row, Chennai Super Kings crushed Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets in a match played in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. With this defeat, Kings XI Punjab has been eliminated from the 13th season of the IPL T20 cricket tournament. Punjab had to win on Sunday to reach the playoffs but Dhoni ruined Lokesh Rahul's side. Punjab set a target of 154 which Chennai achieved by losing just one wicket in 18.5 overs. Earlier, Punjab scored 153 for six.

Chennai's campaign ends with a victory, Punjab out of the tournament

This was the final match of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020. Chennai, who won the inaugural match of the tournament, ended the tournament with a victory. Chennai have failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in the history of the IPL. Chennai are currently seventh in the points table. Punjab, on the other hand, also had this final match and needed to win this match to keep their playoff hopes alive. But his campaign in the tournament ended with the defeat. Punjab have won six of their 14 matches and lost eight. The result for Chennai has been the same.

Rituraj Gaekwad's third half century in a row

The target was 154 against Chennai but the victory was made easy by opener Rituraj Gaekwad. Gaikwad and his fellow opener Faf Duplessis batted brilliantly. The pair laid the foundation for the team's victory with a partnership of 82 runs in 9.5 overs for the first wicket. Duplessis missed a half-century for two but Rituraj hit a half-century. This was his third consecutive half century in the tournament. Duplessis hit 48 off 34 balls with four fours and two sixes. Gaikwad later shared an unbeaten 72-run partnership with Ambati Rayudu. Gaikwad played an unbeaten innings of 62 off 49 balls which included six fours and a six. While Rayudu scored 30 off 30 balls with the help of two fours and remained unbeaten. The only victory for Punjab was taken by Chris Jord.

Punjab scored 153 runs

Earlier, with the help of Deepak Hooda's aggressive half-century, Kings XI Punjab set a target of 154 against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi. This was Chennai's final match in the 13th season of the IPL T20 cricket tournament. In which Dhoni won the toss and invited Punjab to bat first. After a good start, Punjab was in the middle order. But in the final overs, Deepak Hooda scored a half-century with the help of which Punjab scored 153 for six in the allotted 20 overs.

Punjab throbs after a good start

Punjab had a good start. Captain Lokesh Rahul and Mayank Agarwal shared a 48-run stand for the first wicket. However, after these two batsmen were dismissed, Punjab lost their wickets in the near future. Rahul was dismissed for 29 off 27 balls with three fours and a six while Mayank Agarwal was dismissed for 26 off 15 balls with the help of five fours. Langu Nagidi assembled the pavilion for both openers. Chris Gayle (12), Nicholas Pooran (two) and Mandeep Singh (14) were all dismissed.

Deepak Hooda's aggressive half century

However, in the lower order, Deepak Hooda batted brilliantly. He strengthened the team's score by playing offensive shots. Deepak maintained one edge till the end. Deepak played an unbeaten innings of 62 in 30 overs. Which included three fours and four sixes. Chennai's bowling was good but its bowlers failed to control Deepak Hooda. For Chennai, Lungi Nagidi was quick for three wickets while Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja had one-on-one success.