IPL 2019: Match 55, KXIP vs CSK, Review – Destructive KL Rahul makes the chase a cakewalk for the hosts

Despite the loss, CSK ensure a top-two finish at the end of the league stages.

Published - 05 May 2019, 19:50 IST | Updated - 05 May 2019, 19:50 IST

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KL Rahul was at his destructive best when the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) took on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the penultimate league game of the season. Despite playing five dots early on, he took just 19 balls to register his 17th IPL fifty. The right-hander scored 71 runs in just 36 balls to set up the platform for his team in the chase. His knock completely overshadowed Faf du Plessis’ 96.

At one point in time, one of the top two spots for CSK was also under threat. Had Punjab chased the target down in 14.2 overs, the Super Kings would have been pushed down below the Delhi Capitals (DC). However, the bowlers did well to pull things back in the latter half of the innings. Dhoni handed over the ball to his best bowlers before the 15th over itself to make this possible. This win, though, helped KXIP avoid finishing at the bottom spot on the points table.

Did the Super Kings get over-complacent?

Shane Watson suffered yet another failure after his team was put into bat first in this match. Sam Curran managed to get through his gate and bowled him for just 7 runs. However, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina came to the rescue and built up a wonderful partnership. They added 120 runs together and were going strong. But the tables turned upside down all of a sudden after Raina was dismissed by Curran after he scored 53 from 38 balls.

Faf du Plessis accelerated brilliantly after a relatively slow start but failed to get to his century. It was that man again, Sam Curran, who dismissed the Proteas cricketer for 96 runs. Mohammed Shami, Curran and Ravichandran Ashwin were brilliant at the death as CSK could only get 28 runs in the last four overs. Skipper MS Dhoni couldn’t get going and remained unbeaten on 10 off 12 balls as CSK finished with a score of 170/5.

KL Rahul toys with the opposition bowlers

KL Rahul destroyed the Chennai Super Kings right in the powerplay. 68 runs were scored in the first six overs out of which Rahul scored 55. He got to his half-century in just 19 balls, the third fastest this season. The CSK bowlers were flying all over the place before DJ Bravo was introduced into the attack. He slowed down the proceedings slightly. However, it was quite tough to keep these two quite for long. The 100-run partnership came in just 9 overs.

Harbhajan Singh, who conceded 41 runs in his first two overs, was reintroduced into the attack in the 11th over. He managed to dismiss both the openers off consecutive balls in that over. While Rahul got out after scoring 71 off 36 balls, Chris Gayle could only score 28 runs in 28 balls. In his next over, the off-spinner also dismissed Mayank Agarwal for 7 runs. Nicholas Pooran scored a handy 22-ball 36 before he got out. Ultimately, KXIP managed to win the match by 6 wickets.