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28 March 2024

IPL 7 UAE: Maxwell, Miller guide Punjab to easy win over Chennai

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (second right) celebrates with Suresh Raina and other teammates after the wicket of Pune Warriors batsman Mithun Manhas (not pictured) during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match between Pune Warriors and Chennai Super Kings at The D.Y. Patil Cricket stadium in the outskirts of Mumbai. (AFP)

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By Cricket Correspondent & Agencies

Glenn Maxwell scored an impressive 95 while David Miller was unbeaten on 54 as Kings XI Punjab registered their first win chasing an superb 206 target against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Needing a tough 206 to win, Punjab lost quick wickets despite Virender Sehwag's quick 19.

But Maxwell and Miller completely dominated the proceedings sharing a 115-run stand for fourth wickets as Punjab overhauled the target in the penultimate over.

Earlier, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith put on a brilliant batting performance as Chennai piled on a huge 205 for three in 20 overs.

The openers added 123 runs for the first wicket with McCullum scoring 67 from 45 balls with the help of four boundaries and five sixes.

Smith followed it up with an impressive 66 from 43 balls including six hits to the fence and three over it.

Raina scored a steady 19-ball 23 while Dhoni fired a 10-ball 26 to ensure Chennai crossed the 200-run mark.

KINGS XI PUNJAB


So it's down to two final overs and Punjab need only 12 runs from here. KXIP: 194-4 in 18 overs.

Miller gets to his half century. He paced his innings very nicely as he reaches 51 from just 33 balls. Punjab need only 16 from 18 balls. KXIP: 190-4 in 17 overs.

A stunning batting display comes to an end as Smith bowls a yorker to finish Maxwell. Chennai see some hopes now but it's Bailey going to be in next. KXIP: 167-4 in 15.4 overs.

Glenn Maxwell b Smith 95 (43b 15x4 2x6)

Partnership crosses 100 as Maxwell reaches 85. KXIP: 156-3 in 15 overs.

Maxwell reaches 78 as he is taking Punjab towards victory. Chennai desperate for a wicket. CSK 147-3 in 14 overs.

Maxwell is single-handedly taking the game in favour of Punjab. Three boundaries and a six in Negi's over has made the calcuations easy now. KXIP 138-3 in 13 overs.

A fine half century from Maxwell coming off just 25 balls including nine boundaries. KXIP: 116-3 in 12 overs.

Punjab has the momentum at the moment as Maxwell and Miller share a half-century partnership for the fourth wicket. KXIP: 104-3 in 11 overs.

Ashish Nehra and Faf drop once each in the same over but skipper Dhoni remains to be cool behind the stumps. Good luck for Punjab. KXIP: 93-3 in 10 overs.

Despite a first ball six, Negi bowled a fine over giving just one run from the remaining five balls. KXIP: 90-3 in 9 overs.

Punjab maintaining run rate over 10 but the required is also as much. They need this partnership going. KXIP: 83-3 in 8 overs.

Maxwell races to 31 from 15 balls including four boundaries. KXIP: 72-3 in 7 overs.

Despite the wicket, Maxwell slams two consecutive boundaries. KXIP: 64-3 in 6 overs.

Ashwin bags his second wicket as Patel falls again on lbw. KXIP: 52-3 in 5.1 overs.

Akshar Patel lbw b Ashwin 2 (3b 0x4 0x6)

Maxwell finds the ropes thrice as Punjab reach 52-2 in 5 overs.

Punjab suddenly looking to be in the back seat. Second quick wicket as Ashwin gets Pujara trapped in front. KXIP: 38-2 in 3.4 overs.

Cheteshwar Pujara lbw b Ashwin 13 (10b 2x4 0x6)

After a flurry of boundaries, Nehra has the final laugh as he removes Sehwag. The Delhi dasher completely misses it. KXIP: 31-1 in 3 overs.

Virender Sehwag b Nehra 19 (10b 4x4 0x6)

The good old Sehwag looks to be back. Two fine boundaries. KXIP 14-0 in 2 overs.

A slow start for Punjab as Sehwag and Pujara get their eyes set in. KXIP 3-0 in 1 over.

Virender Sehwag and  Pujara open for Punjab as Ashish Nehra to bowl for Chennai.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS INNINGS

A six from Dhoni and Bravo before the former is out off the last ball. CSK 205-4 in 20 overs.

MS Dhoni c Dhawan b Balaji 26 (11b 3x4 1x6)

Raina fails attempting a cheeky shot offering a simple catch to Sehwag. CSK 185-3 in 18.4 overs.

Suresh Raina c Sehwag b Awana 24 (19b 2x4 0x6)

A good over from Johnson with just seven runs off it. CSK 180-2 in 18 overs.

Dhoni gets going straight away as he gets two hits to the fence. CSK 172-2 in 17 overs.

Punjab gets another big wicket as Smith goes mistiming a full toss delivery. CSK 161-2 in 16.2 overs.

Dwayne Smith c Bailey b Balaji 66 (43b 6x4 3x6)

An expensive Johnson over. He gave away 39 runs from his three overs. Smith batting on 66. CSK 160-1 in 16 overs.

A superb half century from Smith. With Mccullum around Smith was a tad slow but still got his half century from 37 balls with a boundary. He follows it up with a six as CSK reach 145-1 in 15 overs.

Chennai are 132-1 in 14 overs.

Raina gets going immediately opening his account with a boundary. Raina will look to make it a memorable one here as he plays his 100th IPL match. CSK 128-1 in 13 overs.

Finally Punjab have something to smile for as Patel strikes to remove McCullum. He was looking very dangerous. CSK 123-1 in 12.4 overs.

Brendon McCullum c Maxwell b Patel 67 (45b 4x4 5x6)

McCullum on 61 and Smith on 43. CSK 116-0 in 12 overs.

Chennai openers are ensuring every over there get a big one. This time Smith welcomes Maxwell with a six. CSK 112-0 in 11 overs.

The 100-run partnership comes up for the Chennai openers half way stage. They are putting the Yellow team into a strong position. CSK 102-0 in 10 overs

Chennai's run rate is over 10 and without losing a wicket. Punjab will need some quick wickets to stop the flow. CSK 96-0 in 9 overs.

McCullum on song at the Zayed Stadium. Gets his half century in style with a lovely boundary. He took just 30 balls to reach the milestone. CSK 89-0 in 8 overs.

Patel gives some respite for Punjab. Gives just singles to bowl a tight over. CSK 76-0 in 7 overs.

McCullum has been unstoppable. He does not spare Johnson as well as he hammers a boundary and a big six. CSK 71-0 in 6 overs.

After Smith blasted two boundaries, Punjab's first chance for a wicket came when McCullum offered a tough catch to captain Bailey, who does get a hand on it but fails to latch on to it. The next ball the New Zealander sends the ball out of the ground. CSK 59-0 in 5 overs.

Not a very expensive over for Balaji though he conceded a boundary early on. CSK 41-0 in 4 overs

This time it was Smith's turn to take on Johnson. A boundary and a superb six over the point takes CSK to 32-0 in 3 overs.

McCullum finds the boundary twice in a row as he gets going. Awana does not have the best of the starts with 10 runs coming off it. CSK 19-0 in 2 overs.

20-year-old Patel bowls a fine over on his debut. A wide that ran to the boundary proved to be expensive but otherwise a good start for Punjab. CSK 9-0 in 1 over.

Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith open for Chennai as Punjab starts of spin with debutant Akshar Patel.

Playing XI:

Chennai: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma.

Punjab: Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey, Wriddhiman Saha, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Rishi Dhawan, Parvinder Awana, Lakshmipathy Balaji

Chennai have won the toss and elected to bat. Dhoni believes the ball will come on to the bat. The conditions are hot and humid. Raina will be making his 100th appearance for Chennai.

PREVIEW

Despite the off-field controversies surrounding the Chennai Super Kings, the still reckon to be one of the strongest teams in the Indian Premier League. They open their campaign against a revamped Kings XI Punjab in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

This year, Chennai have lost some reliable players including Australian Michael Hussey and South African Albie Morkel but they have been replaced by New Zealand's power-packed batsman Brendan McCullum and South African Faf du Plessis.

West Indian leg-spinner Samuel Badree could prove to be an important player from the bowling point of view.

On the other side, Punjab have not been very impressive but have still got the balance with some smart purchases this season. They have got the skipper in Australian George Baily and India's swashbuckling batsman VIrender Sehwag, who can be destructive if he shows form.

On the bowling front, Punjab's biggest purchase was Australia's Mitchell Johnson.