The Sam Curran-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) hosted the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL) on Sunday, May 5 2024).
The Punjab Kings chose to bowl first in the game and a brilliant performance from the hosts saw CSK restricted to 167/9. The top performers in the bowling unit were Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel, who bagged three wickets each. The duo were very well supported by Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran who shared three wickets between them.
In pursuit of the target, PBKS got off to a poor start but a 53-run partnership between Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh kept the chase alive. However, once they got out, the Punjab Kings couldn’t get going and were reduced to 139/9 in 20 overs for a loss of 28 runs.
After the match, PBKS captain Sam Curran expressed his satisfaction with his team’s bowling performance and gave special praise to Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel. Sam Curran said:
“I thought we bowled really well. Rahul Chahar and Harshal bowled really well, were pretty happy at half-time but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
Sam Curran blamed the Dharamsala track for his side’s defeat in the game and said they expected more pace and bounce from the pitch. Sam Curran said:
“The wicket was probably slower than we thought, we were expecting a bit more pace and bounce, it was pretty similar throughout the game. A few days off and in a few days we face RCB, so we have to keep going and be persistent.”
Punjab Kings are ready to receive a big Shikhar Dhawan boost
PBKS has been missing the services of their original captain Shikhar Dhawan for almost a month. The veteran left-handed batsman suffered a shoulder injury while playing during the match against Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh on April 9.
Before his injury, Shikhar Dhawan had played five games for the Punjab Kings in the current season. In these games he scored 152 runs at a best of 70, an average of 30.40 and a strike rate of 125.62.
Meanwhile, PBKS is set to get a major boost as Dhawan’s return date has been confirmed by the team’s bowling coach Sunil Joshi. He said that Dhawan’s rehabilitation has gone well and the left-handed batsman is most likely to return to the team for the last two group league matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Shikhar is in rehab, he is fine. He will not be available for this game (against CSK) and we are monitoring him very closely. Hopefully he should be back for the last two games,” Joshi said on Saturday.
The Punjab Kings’ last three games will be on May 9th in Dharamsala against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), on May 15th in Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and on May 19th in Hyderabad against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). instead of.