Chennai Super Kings have got off to a flying start against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium. After Deepak Chahar knocked Mayank Agarwal, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja struck bullseye to catch KL Rahul short of his crease to call early troubles for the Punjab side, who made a winning start to their IPL 2021 campaign against Rajasthan Royals.
Asked to bat first, Deepak Chahar drew the first blood sending Mayank Agarwal early with a scorcher of a delivery. The ball pitched in the good length and just did a bit to unsettle Mayank and unrattled his stumps. The onus was on skipper KL Rahul and senior-most batsman Chris Gayle to stitch a big partnership and revive the side. However, a brilliant piece of work from Ravindra Jadeja ended Rahul’s stay in the middle. The Punjab skipper was unlucky and returned with only five runs under his belt.
A start-stop affair doesn’t help when the batsman’s hit one straight to the fielder and when that fielder is Ravindra Jadeja. You need to really brave to take a chance against his arm. Chris Gayle poked it in front of the backward point and there was a hesitation before the pair decided to rush the single.
Ravindra Jadeja hits bullseye
Ravindra Jadeja had one stump to aim and he picked it up in one motion and hammers the furniture with a cracking direct hit. He knew it was out, right from the time the ball hit the stumps and Punjab Kings are in some early trouble reeling at 15 for two.
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— Cricsphere (@Cricsphere) April 16, 2021
The early woes continued as Chennai Super Kings reduced Punjab Kings to 26 for five in just 6.2 overs. Deepak Chahar accounted for four wickets while Ravindra Jadeja accounted for the other run-out. The onus now will be on Shahrukh Khan, who is only playing his second IPL game to do the bulk of the scoring and post a challenging total on the scoreboard.
