Team Punjab hardly broke a sweat to beat Team Chennai in the 53rd match of the 2021 Indian T20 League.
Chennai, who were sent to bat first by toss-winning captain KL Rahul, scored 134/6 in 20 overs, with Faf du Plessis scoring 76 runs off 55 deliveries. The South African's effort was overshadowed by KL Rahul's blistering knock of 98* off just 42 balls. The Punjab captain hit seven fours and eight sixes, meaning that almost 78 per cent of his runs came through boundaries and sixes.
"Good opportunity always to play the Indian T20 League," said Aiden Markram after the match. "Rahul's done something quite special tonight. The team went crazy behind the scenes with every shot."
Punjab have moved to the fifth spot in the points table for the time being. As things stand, they are heavily reliant on the likes of Kolkata and Mumbai to qualify for the playoffs. First, they need Kolkata to lose with a big margin (of around 70 runs) and hope Mumbai lose their match tomorrow. Punjab's job here is done as they have finished their season with 12 points. It's the fourth consecutive season where they have finished on 12 points.
As for Chennai, it's their third consecutive loss in the league stage. The momentum has well and truly shifted, something that might affect their performance in the playoffs.
Here's how the match panned out:
