IPL 2018, Match 56, CSK vs KXIP - Chennai Super Kings Player Ratings

The Chennai Super Kings have soared in to the playoffs with a thumping win over the Kings XI Punjab in the last league game of the IPL 2018. With the win, they have now set their Qualifier 1 date with the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. Also, with the defeat, the Kings XI Punjab have got knocked out of the competition. They needed to win the match by 53 runs or more to pip the Rajasthan Royals and make it to the playoffs. But they ended up surrendering meekly in the game.

In the match, the Chennai Super Kings won the toss and asked the Kings to bat first. The Kings could never really get in the game as Lungi Ngidi and Deepak Chahar ran through their top order. Ngidi, in particular, stormed through the KXIP batting with figures of 4/10. Karun Nair played the saving grace for the visitors in Pune with a crucial counter attacking 54 that propelled the total to 153.

In the run chase, the Super Kings were in a spot of bother with their top order not scoring briskly, save Suresh Raina. Raina anchored the innings with his unbeaten 61 as other ‘batsmen’ – Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar – played handy cameos around in. Towards the end, MS Dhoni hit a six to finish the game in style and the CSK camp registered a 5-wicket win.

Here are the player ratings for the match:

Ambati Rayudu – 1/10

Ambati Rayudu has been the best batsman for the Chennai Super Kings in the season. In this particular game, he had a rare failure. Rayudu got a beautiful swinging delivery from Mohit Sharma. He was sent packing on 1 very early in the run chase. He would hope to regain his form in the playoffs.

Faf du Plessis – 2/10

South African veteran Faf du Plessis got another opportunity to show his skills in the IPL this year. He was drafted in to the playing eleven at the expense of Shane Watson. Du Plessis, however, failed to leave an imprint on the game. He could only score 14 during his 15 ball stay at the crease.

Suresh Raina – 9/10

Veteran Indian batsman Suresh Raina played the anchoring role in the run chase for CSK. He did not panic against the moving ball and took his time to settle in. The knock was certainly not the most fluent by him by Raina certainly had the tempo in control. He scored an unbeatenn 61 off 48 deliveries with four boundaries and a couple of sixes to his name.

MS Dhoni – 8/10

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni was right on the money yet again with his bowling moves. His decision to let Deepak Chahar have an extended spell and his usage of Lungi Ngidi brought the best out of the two pacers. Later in the game, he scored an unbeaten 16 with a thundering match winning six for his side.

Dwayne Bravo – 5/10

Dwayne Bravo did not get an opportunity to bat in the game. Bravo was a wicket taking option with the ball though. He scalped the wickets of David Miller and the dangerous Karun Nair in the game. However, he was taken away for as many as 39 runs in the four overs that he bowled.

Sam Billings – 1/10

Sam Billings had a terrible day at the office. The English cricketer walked in to bat at a tricky situation in the game. He was expected to bat deep along with Suresh Raina. But he got a peach of a delivery from Ankit Rajpoot that saw him bag a golden duck in the match.

Harbhajan Singh – 4/10

Harbhajan Singh had a very unusual time in the game. He played the match as a bowler and got just one over to bowl in the KXIP innings. He gave away 13 runs. Later, he was promoted ahead of MS Dhoni, Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja to bat in the run chase. He scored 19 off 22 balls during his stay at the crease.

Deepak Chahar – 8.5/10

Deepak Chahar had a very good outing in the game. He bowled very well with the new ball for the Chennai Super Kings and this was the reason why MS Dhoni let him complete his spell at one go. Chahar returned with figures of 1/30 in four overs and took the wicket of Aaron Finch. Later in the game, he scored a brisk 39 off just 20 deliveries to make the run chase easier for his side.

Ravindra Jadeja – 4/10

Ravindra Jadeja did not get an opportunity to bat in the game as the likes of Harbhajan and Chahar were promoted ahead of him. With the ball in hand, he got a chance to bowl three overs. In those three overs, he returned with figures of 1/23 and accounted for the wicket of a well set Manoj Tiwary.

Shardul Thakur – 5/10

Shardul Thakur bowled 3.4 overs in the game and returned with figures of 2/33. The Indian speedster has been guilty of leaking runs at the death. His problem persisted in this game as well and he would hope to correct his flaws in the playoffs. Thakur managed to take the wickets of Axar Patel and Ankit Rajpoot in the match.

Lungi Ngidi – 9.5/10

South African speedster Lungi Ngidi was arguably the best bowler for the Chennai Super Kings in the match. Ngidi gave the first breakthrough to his side by dismissing Chris Gayle for a duck. Soon, he cleaned up the in-form KL Rahul. Later, he backed it up with the wickets of R Ashwin and Andrew Tye. He finished with exceptional figures of 4/10 in the four overs that he bowled, which included a maiden as well.

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