For the second time in the Pepsi IPL-7, Chennai Super Kings tasted defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab, and, once again, it was Glenn Maxwell who played a winning hand, hitting 90 off 38 balls.
Set to chase a mammoth 232, this season’s highest, CSK was restricted to 187 for six at the packed Barabati Stadium here thus falling short by 44 runs on Wednesday to lose only its second game in eight. The defeat also snapped its six-match winning streak. KXIP registered its sixth win in seven games.
CSK needed a solid launch to the chase but that wasn’t to be. On a pitch full of runs the most successful opening pair of the tournament, Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum, was separated rather early — with the former sent back with the score on five in the first over.
Suresh Raina got 33 runs in 27 balls but fell thereafter. Promoted to accelerate the scoring, Ravindra Jadeja departed for 17.
Then, McCullum failed to beat Mitchell Johnson’s direct hit while attempting a suicidal second run after making 33 off 29 balls.
Faf du Plessis and M.S. Dhoni tried gamely, but the huge target proved too much.
Invited to bat, KXIP produced the batting performance of the tournament so far.
After Virender Sehwag gave his side a bright start with a little cameo, the team’s demolition men Glenn Maxwell and David Miller produced a stunning display of strokes.
From 38 for two, KXIP turned it on.
The fireworks began in the 11th over when R. Ashwin was introduced. The Aussie seemed to be waiting for the India off-spinner to come on, and greeted him with two massive sixes on his way to plundering 17 runs. Jadeja, coming on next, faced the same treatment, Miller hoisting him for a huge six. That over cost 14 runs.
Dhoni persisted with Ashwin, and he went for 21 runs. The duo waded into the offie, hitting him for two sixes and two boundaries.
Maxwell brought up his half century (52, 23b, 4x4, 4x6) as the total jumped to 121 for two.
Maxwell kept toying with the CSK bowlers; Ishwar Pandey was next to get the treatment as he was hit for 18 runs. The 15th over, bowled by Jadeja, produced 14, and KXIP raced to 153 for two.
Dhoni then brought on Smith, who got Miller for 47 (32b, 5x4, 2x6) bowling him off an inside edge. The pair had put on a record 135 runs for the third wicket in 10.4 overs.
Maxwell perished at 90 (38b, 6x4, 8x6) in the 18th over bowled by Mohit, Jadeja taking a well judged catch at wide mid-wicket off a slog sweep.
However, the last four overs cost Super Kings a whopping 58 runs, of which 23 came off the final over bowled by Mohit, with captain George Bailey making full use of the drooping CSK shoulders to power to an unbeaten 13-ball 40 with five boundaries and two sixes.
