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IPL 2025, PBKS vs CSK: Shreyas Iyer wins toss, elects to bowl against struggling CSK

• Posted on April 30, 2025

At the halfway stage, when Chennai Super Kings posted a competitive 190 after being put in to bat by Punjab Kings, the fans at the MAC Stadium would have believed their side had a fighting total in hand.

However, Shreyas Iyer (72, 41b, 5x4, 4x6) had other ideas as he led from the front along with Prabhsimran Singh (54, 36b) to hunt down the target in clinical fashion and help their side secure a four-wicket win in an IPL league match on Wednesday (April 30, 2025).

Openers Prabhsimran and Priyansh Arya got PBKS off to a solid start by taking on the CSK pacers as the visitor reached 51 for one in the PowerPlay. Once Priyansh was dismissed, Prabhsimran and his skipper did not take their foot off the pedal and added 72 for the second wicket.

The former employed the sweep and reverse to good effect against Ravindra Jadeja and then took on Noor Ahmad by using his feet to hit a maximum down the ground.

At the other end, Shreyas brought his experience to play, mixing caution with aggression. The 30-year-old then took charge when he muscled Sam Curran over long-on, followed by a crunching cover drive to get to his half-century.

On a day when slow cutters were proving to be hard to hit, CSK pacers failed to do that as Matheesha Pathirana’s poor form continued to hurt the outfit.

In the 17th over, Shreyas punished the Sri Lankan pacer for bowling in the slot by lofting him for consecutive sixes down the ground and then carved one through point for a four.

At that point, the crowd headed for the exits, and it perfectly summarised Super Kings’ miserable campaign.

Earlier, Curran starred with the bat for the five-time champion, stroking a fine 88 (47b, 9x4, 4x6). The southpaw’s effort helped set a good platform for the host. But after he departed, the host crumbled, losing the last five wickets for six runs, when Yuzvendra Chahal (3-0-32-4) scalped four wickets in the 19th over, including a hat-trick, to wrest back the momentum for PBKS.

In the end, those runs left on the table proved costly for the Men in Yellow, who became the first team to be eliminated this year.

Skipper Shreyas shines with fifty as Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by four wickets in IPL match. | Source: The Hindu

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