Mohali, May 5: Kings XI Punjab defeated Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash here on Sunday. Chasing a target of 171 runs, Punjab had a very scintillating start as the openers, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, formed a 108 runs partnership. Rahul started playing big shots at the beginning, which helped him score his half-century in just 19 balls.Both gave a solid start to Punjab before Rahul (71) and Gayle (28) both got out on two consecutive balls bowled by Harbhajan Singh. Nicolas Pooran and Mayank Aggarwal then came out to bat. Kings XI Punjab Out to Prove Themselves in IPL 2019. However, their partnership did not last long as Aggarwal gave away his wicket on seven runs.Mandeep Singh then joined Pooran and both added another 46 runs to the scoreboard before Ravindra Jadeja sent Pooran (36) back to the pavilion. Sam Curran then came out to bat and both Curran and Mandeep Singh took their side over the line and registered a 6-wicket victory. Earlier, CSK were sent to bat first as Punjab opted to bowl first after winning the toss. CSK had a decent start as Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis added 30 runs to the scoreboard before Sam Curran got hold of Watson (7).Suresh Raina then came out to bat and accompanied Du Plessis. Both the on-field batter played some brilliant shots and struck regular boundaries, which kept the scoreboard running. Here are some stats from KXIP vs CSK IPL 2019 match # KL Rahul registered third fastest-fifty of IPL 2019, took 19 balls to reach the milestone. # Harbhajan Singh (3/57) conceded most runs for three or more wickets in an IPL game. # KL Rahul registered his second fifty in first four overs of a team innings in the IPL. He is the only player to do so. Both stitched a 120-run partnership which saw half-century of both the players. However, Raina (53) and Du Plessis (96), both became victims of Curran, who sent both the set batsmen, back to the pavilion. Then skipper MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu came out to bat. However, in the last over of the inning, Mohammed Shami took the wicket of Rayudu which brought Kedar Jhadav to the field but Shami sent Jhadav too back to the pavilion. Shami conceded only five runs in the final over which helped Punjab restrict CSK to 170 runs. Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab (KL Rahul 71, Nicolas Pooran 36, Harbhajan Singh 3-57) defeated Chennai Super Kings (Faf du Plessis 96, Suresh Raina 53, Sam Curran 3-35) by six wickets. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)<doc-sep>Good afternoon. Welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the afternoon's Indian Premier League matcgh between the Kings XI Punjab and the Chennai Super Kings from the PCA Stadium in Mohali. I am Hari Kishore M, and I will take you through the non-stop action. Also, later in the evening we have a big match in Mumbai Indians playing Kolkata Knight Riders with a lot at stake. Sit back, relax and enjoy the Super Sunday with Sportstar. It is now over to Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders! An all-round performance by Kings XI Punjab. First the bowlers came to the party in restricting Chennai for 170 when it looked like it would get more and then K.L. Rahul and Chris Gayle gave a rollicking start and then Nicholas Pooran played a beautiful cameo as his team went through. KXIP 173/4 in 18 overs: That's it. Sam Curran wallops Imran Tahir down the ground and with that Kings XI Punjab beats Chennai Super Kings by six wickets. KXIP 164/4 in 16.2 overs: Nicholas Pooran departs after a cameo. He is caught behind for 36 (22 balls, 2x4, 3x6) as Punjab encounters a speed breaker in the home stretch. Sam Curran joins Mandeep Singh and it is just a matter of time now for Punjab to beat CSK. KXIP 163/3 in 16 overs: It is now just 8 runs off 24 balls for Punjab. Pooran looks solid, smashing Imran Tahir for a six over deep midwicket. KXIP 151/3 in 15 overs: Punjab needs just 20 off 30 balls to win and Pooran has just smashed Ravindra Jadeja for 13 runs in the over. Welcoming him with a six and then a four. KXIP 138/3 in 14 overs: Nicholas Pooran and Mandeep Singh have added 20 in 10 balls as KXIP puts on its scoring boots again. KXIP 118/3 in 12.2 overs: Harbhajan strikes. Mayank Agarwal pulls and finds the deep backward square fielder to perfection. Mayank goes for 7, caught by Jadeja and CSK is pulling things back. KXIP 117/2 in 12 overs: The dual wickets have stemmed the run rate a bit. Imran Tahir sends a good over, with a slip in place, as Mayank and Pooran try to get their feet in. Chennai's top spot isn't in danger anymore. Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran in the middle. KXIP 108/2 in 10.4 overs: Two in two for Harbhajan. Both the openers depart. Gayle tried to smoke a half tracker to long on but finds Dhruv Shorey (substitute) waiting for the catch. The game has tilted in two balls — both the openers depart. KXIP 108/1 in 10.3 overs: Rahul departs after an blazing innings. Harbhajan Singh picks up the wicket. Rahul skies one to Tahir at covers and is out for 71 off just 36 balls. KXIP 106/0 in 10 overs: Half way through the innings and Kings XI Punjab have made this Chennai attack look listless. Rahul has been in tremendous form, just before the World Cup, and for a change Gayle is playing second fiddle. KXIP 100/0 in 9 overs: Chris Gayle and K.L. Rahul are juts toying with the Chennai bowling attack. Chennai's top spot in danger as Punjab reaches within 71 runs of the target. Rahul smacks Deepak Chahar for two boundaries — one at deep midwicket and one straight down the ground — to bring the 100 up for Punjab. KXIP 85/0 in 7 overs: Now, Chris Gayle joins the party. Imran Tahir bowls three good balls but gives away two sixes and 1 four in the remaining three. Gayle first goes over covers for four, then six over long off and a six over long off. CSK bowling is in tatters now. KXIP 68/0 in 6 overs: What a powerplay! K.L. Rahul just took off after the first over and tonked anything that came his way. Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo bowled two good overs but the start given by Rahul means KXIP is going at more than 11 an over. KXIP 57/0 in 4 overs: 50 for K.L. Rahul in just 19 balls. 24 runs off the Harbhajan Singh over as Rahul goes hammer and tongs. 4,4,4,6,0,6 in the over from Harbhajan. For the first time, CSK is looking clueless in the match. And on the other end, Gayle has just scored 4 off 5 balls. KXIP 24/0 in 2 overs: 18 runs off the Harbhajan Singh over. Gayle starts with a boundary at the fine leg region and then Rahul smacks the off-spinner for two consecutive sixes — first over extra cover and then over long leg region. KXIP is of to a blazing start. KXIP 6/0 in 1 over: Five dot balls and one balls undoes all the good work. Deepak Chahar managed to keep K.L. Rahul quiet for five balls but the last ball is short and Rahul just tonks this into the crowds at the deep midwicket fence. Out walk Chris Gayle and K.L. Rahul. Deepak Chahar is with the new ball. If Kings XI Punjab doesn't chase 171 in 14.3 overs, Chennai will finish the league in the top spot. The Kings XI Punjab bowlers would be happy with this bowling performance, especially after the humongous partnership between Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis. It is now the turn of the batsmen to prove their worth. Back with the chase in a bit. CSK 170/5 in 20 overs: Mohd. Shami comes up with a brilliant last over, just 5 runs and 2 wickets in the over. A great effort considering he managed to keep Dhoni quiet. The last ball was on the blockhole and MSD just managed two runs, with a shot down the ground. CSK 167/5 in 19.4 overs: Classic stuff from Mohd. Shami. Kedar Jadhav tries to go inside-out but Shami wins this, the batsman misses and the bowler castles him. CSK 166/4 in 19.2 overs: Ambati Rayudu needed to go after Mohd. Shami but only finds Mandeep Singh in the deep midwicket fence. The good thing for CSK is, the batsmen crossed, and Dhoni will be on strike. CSK 165/3 in 19 overs: The final over of the innings is coming up. CSK needs an MSD special now. CSK 163/3 in 18.4 overs: Heartbreak for Faf du Plessis. He is castled by Sam Curran for 96. A fullish ball that tailed in sharp and Faf had no clue and falls over. The ball hits the pads and then deflects onto the stumps. CSK 154/2 in 18 overs: The wicket of Raina has put some brakes on CSK's scoring rate. But with MSD and Faf in the middle, CSK can expect to milk the maximum possible runs from the remaining 12 balls. Ravi Ashwin bowled the 18th over for just 4 runs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni joins Faf du Plessis. CSK 150/2 in 16.4 overs: Raina departs. A slower ball from Curran was all that was needed. Raina got inside the line to pull as it was going down leg, he rolled the wrists but he just hit it straight to Shami who took a simple catch. Raina is out for 53. Faf du Plessis is on a roll. He smacks Andrew Tye for 4, 4, 6 and then gives Sam Curran the treatment. He picks a slower one from Curran, clears the front leg and hits this straight down the ground. CSK 124/1 in 15 overs: The CSK batsmen seem to have got the cue from Stephen Fleming. Raina gets to his 50 with a four through deep midwicket and then du Plessis carts Ashwin for a four and six over the long-on region. 18 runs off the Murugan Ashwin over and CSK has changed gears. Stephen Fleming has come out near the ropes and the fourth umpire comes and intervenes — no strategies to be communicated till the 'strategic timeout' CSK 106/1 in 14 overs: Both the Ashwins bowling in tandem has resulted in just nine runs in the last 12 balls, more importantly without a boundary. Faf has reached his half century and Raina is approaching his milestone. CSK 97/1 in 12 overs: Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis have added 67 runs in 47 balls for the second wicket as CSK is growing in strength. Murugan Ashwin and Andrew Tye haven't been able to contain the flow of runs and the batsmen are in no trouble finding the boundary every over. In the Tye ball of the 12th over, KXIP's Tye was convinced for an LBW shout on Raina and convinced Ashwin to go for the review after the umpire ruled it not out but the UltraEdge confirmed an inside edge. CSK 79/1 in 10 overs: At the half-way stage, CSK has a run-rate of just below eight runs an over. Andrew Tye bowled the 10th and Faf and Raina took one boundary each — both had width outside off stump and the batsmen are too experienced to let these balls go without punishing. Did you know: In the IPL, who has the highest strike-rate for an innings of 50 and above? Answer: Suresh Raina. He scored 87 off 25 deliveries for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab, on May 30, 2014, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, registering a strike-rate of 348. It was also the fourth fastest IPL fifty. CSK 67/1 in 9 overs: Raina has been harsh on Brar and sends him into the orbit for the second time in as many overs. This time he times it immaculately and the ball lands in the crowds beyond the deep midwicket fence easily. 10 runs have come off the Brar over, the highest in the innings so far. CSK 49/1 in 7 overs: Raina dances down the track to Harpreet Brar and smacks him over the long-on fence. For a moment it looked like he didn't get the distance but the short boundaries in Mohali helps Raina. Although CSK have got the boundaries and six, Punjab have also bowled some dot balls in between and that has kept the scoring rate in check. The third over was the most expensive, nine runs scored. CSK 42/1 in 6 overs: It is the end of the powerplay. Ravichandran Ashwin bowls the last over of the powerplay and gives away just 6 runs, with Suresh Raina hoisting him over the square leg are for four. CSK 30/1 in 4.1 overs: Just as I completed the sentence saying the openers are flourishing, Shane Watson proves me wrong. What a horrid season he is having. Curran bowls a fuller one as Watson eyed the third man region. The ball was too close to him for him to go to that part of the ground, Watson misses it and the off-stump is pegged back. CSK 29/0 in 4 overs: The openers have started to flex their muscles. Faf du Plessis first steers Sam Curran to the fence in the third over and a full toss from Shami in the next over is dealt severely through the mid wicket region. CSK's opening partnership needs to flourish and it is budding in the right direction. CSK 14/0 in 2 overs: Mohd. Shami bowls one onto the pads and Faf du Plessis accepts the gift with glee. He times it well past the square leg umpire and the outfield is too quick to slow the ball down. But, Shami has bounced back well after the poor first ball and just gives away three more. Did you know: The average opening partnership for Chennai Super Kings is the least among all teams in the IPL 2019 at 18 runs. CSK 7/0 in 1 over: The left-arm spinner starts well — mixing it well with flighted ones, quicker ones, an arm ball in between — but leaks a boundary in the final ball as Watson times it immaculately towards the covers. Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson are out in the middle. It is time for the CSK openers to fire. Harpreet Brar will start the proceedings for Punjab. A huge cheer as the most popular cricketer comes on to the field and even rolls his arm over. Playing XIs: Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle, K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin (cap), Andrew Tye, Mohammed Shami, M Ashwin and Harpreet Brar.<doc-sep>
Already assured of a playoff berth, table toppers Chennai Super Kings will aim to maintain their pole position with a victory over a struggling Kings XI Punjab in their last IPL group league encounter at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday. After a defeat against Mumbai Indians in an earlier match, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK bounced back with a massive 80-run win over Delhi Capitals in their last game, to once again capture the No.1 spot. Heavy loss against Mumbai Indians saw their net run-rate falling and now with just a game left in the league stage, the defending champions need a win to maintain their dominance and cement their position at the top. With 18 points from 13 games, a win will give them 20 points, which is unlikely to be achieved by any other team. Let’s take a look at some important player battles that could decide the outcome of the match at this iconic venue – Chris Gayle vs Harbhajan Singh Opener Chris Gayle has been among the runs this season and will look for another good outing at home against the table-toppers. He is likely to find it difficult to score freely against CSK as he has struggled against spinner Harbhajan Singh in the past. Gayle has score 97 runs off 97 Bhajji deliveries and has been dismissed by the off-spinner four times. ALSO READ: CSK predicted XI against Kings XI Punjab: MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh miss out KL Rahul vs Deepak Chahar Opener Lokesh Rahul is the second highest run-getter in the tournament so far and will look to continue that momentum against CSK. He will come up against Deepak Chahar, who opens the bowling for the Yellow Brigade. Rahul has scored 39 runs off 26 deliveries from the right-arm medium-pacer and hasn’t been dismissed by Chahar yet. Faf du Plessis vs Ankit Rajpoot Faf du Plessis has done relatively well as an opener for CSK this term and has been responsible for providing quick starts. He will come up against KXIP pacer Ankit Rajpoot who was somewhat caused troubles for him in the past. Du Plessis has managed to score just 10 runs off 13 deliveries from the fast-bowler and has also been dismissed by Rajpoot once. Shane Watson vs Mohammed Shami Opener Shane Watson has been hot and cold in the tournament. After a poor performance with the bat in the last game, he will look for a better outing against KXIP. Watson will have to deal with the pace and guile of Mohammed Shami who has been in good form for the home side. Shami has bowled 12 deliveries to Watson in the IPL, conceded 12 and also got his wicket once. Ambati Rayudu vs Ravichandran Ashwin Middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu hasn’t reached the heights of previous editions and will look to make amends against KXIP. However, things aren’t going to be easy for the right-hander as he will have to come up against his old nemesis R Ashwin. The spinner has dismissed Rayudu four times in the past and will be eager to add to that tally is this clash.