Harpreet Brar of Punjab Kings celebrating the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane of Chennai Super Kings during match the IPL match between CSK and PBKS held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on May 01, 2024.

Punjab Kings left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar opened up about the areas he tries to aim for while bowling against some of the best hitters of the tournament in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

After CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane fended off PBKS bowlers in the powerplay, Harpreet bowled the ninth over and changed the complexion of the game in two deliveries.

In the ninth over, he sent Rahane back to the dressing room, and on the next delivery, he trapped in-form batter Shivam Dube right in front of the stumps. Rahul Chahar backed him up on the other end by making CSK batters toil hard for each run.

Harpreet was adjudged Man of the Match for his game-changing spell that opened the floodgates and laid the foundation for Punjab’s triumph.

“It was a good wicket to bowl on, and even Rahul bowled really well. I have been playing for 6 years, so my confidence has been pretty high. Now bowling to these legends of the game feels normal, I just bowl to my strengths. To be honest, I don’t think wickets, my aim is only to bowl lots of dot balls and dot balls create the wickets. When there is spin in the wicket, the bowlers’ confidence goes up and it is a bit helpful,” Harpreet said after the game.

Both spinners combined to produce an influential spell of 4/33 in 8 overs. Overall, Harpreet has six scalps to his name in 10 matches at an economy of 7.21.

Harpreet’s efforts played a major role as PBKS clinched their fifth win at Chepauk against CSK in the IPL. They went level with five-time champion Mumbai Indians for the most number of wins against CSK at Chepauk in the cash-rich league.

Coming to the match, the vibrant yellow wave in the stands of Chepauk was reduced to silence after PBKS effortlessly chased down 163 with more than two overs to spare.

Stand-in skipper Sam Curran’s decision to put CSK to bat turned out to be the ideal one as the dew factor kicked in to become a hindrance for CSK bowlers in the second half of the match.

Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front and scored 62 off 48 deliveries and MS Dhoni provided the finishing touches at the death to power CSK to an unlikely 162/7.

In reply, PBKS batters hardly broke a sweat while chasing 163. Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw forged a 64-run stand to completely shift the momentum in their favour.

Curran and Shashank Singh applied the finishing touches to seal a 7-wicket win for PBKS.

Chennai Super Kings players would have to display all-round display when they face an unpredictable Punjab Kings in Chennai on May 1.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Following its thumping 78-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings will look to move clear of a tight midfield pack of teams when it takes on a mercurial Punjab Kings at the MAC Stadium in Chennai on May 1, 2024.

The Super Kings bounced back in style against SRH with a clinical performance. Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his merry run while Daryl Mitchell finally found form. More importantly, the host took wickets, thanks to Tushar Deshpande, in the PowerPlay, an area where the side has struggled often this season.

However, the form of Ajinkya Rahane continues to be a cause of concern, and there is a case to be made for giving someone like Sameer Rizvi an opportunity.

Buoyant mood

Meanwhile, the Kings arrived in the city in a buoyant mood after their sensational record-chase of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

The win was set up by openers Prabhsimran Singh and Johnny Bairstow, both of whom finally came to the fore after an underwhelming start to the season. If the top-order can be more consistent, it eases the burden on Shashank Singh and Asutosh Sharma, who have had to do the heavy lifting with the bat.

If Shikhar Dhawan returns — a call on his availability will be taken on match day — it will bolster Punjab’s chances. But the side’s bigger worry is its bowling, as the pace attack has leaked runs like a sieve.

Having won just three games, it is a do-or-die match for the visitors, and a loss could well end their slim hopes of qualification.

Teams (from):

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana and Sameer Rizvi.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Match starts: 7.30 PM.