Match Center

Right then, that is all we have from this game. It has been a dominating performance by Punjab. The action will continue on Monday, April 4. It will be Lucknow going against Hyderabad in that game and the game will start at 7.30 pm IST (2.00 pm GMT). Our coverage, though, will begin in advance. Do join us for the same. Till then, goodbye and cheers!

Liam Livingstone is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH! He says that it's been nice to contribute to the win and reckons the boys did really well tonight. Adds that all the conversations have been about being aggressive but smart and not being reckless and it came off tonight. Mentions that he has been swinging hard and it's good to get a few out of the screws tonight. Also mentions that he plays his own way and he struggled in the first two games but will take confidence from tonight's performance. About his bowling, he says that he enjoys it and was happy to bowl and reckons as the tournament goes on, his spin bowling might come in handy.

Mayank Agarwal, the skipper of Punjab, says that they were thinking that they were 5-7 runs short but they knew early wickets will be key. Adds that he is happy with their performance with the new ball. Mentions that he did not tell anything to Livingstone and says that everyone holds their breath when he is batting Tells that they saw the talent of Vaibhav Arora couple of years back and he has tremendous skills. Mentions that Jitesh Sharma was spotted by Anil Kumble and he is a brilliant keeper. Says that they will continue to play an aggressive brand of cricket and need to keep their emotional intelligence on when it does not go their way.

Time for the presentation.

Shikhar Dhawan is down for a chat. He says that it feels great and they made a great comeback. Tells that Vaibhav Arora was bowling well in the nets and he bowled quite well today and he kept his calm. Adds that he had a good partnership with Livingstone and he played a great knock. Says that they had a good score on the board and with 180 on the board, the chasing team still needs to chase it. Adds that they just needed a good start.

Ravindra Jadeja, the skipper of Chennai, says that they lost too many wickets in the Powerplay and didn't get any momentum at the start and this needs to be addressed. About Ruturaj's form, Jadeja says that they need to back him up and give him confidence as he is a class player and will come good for them. About being asked about Shivam Dube, he says that it was great to see him perform and hopes he keeps up the good work. Ends by saying that they will work hard and bounce back straonger.

Time for some interviews!

Chennai did well in the latter half of their bowling innings to restrict Punjab to a chaseable score. However, they had a disastrous start and they never recovered after a bad start as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Shivam Dube was the only one who showed some fight with a fine fifty but once he departed, it was too much for other batters and they ended up getting bundled out for just 126. The night surely belonged to the hard-hitting English all-rounder Liam Livingstone. As he smashed a brilliant fifty when his team was under the pump and then delivered a two-wicket over that just sealed the game in Punjab's favour!

Punjab got to a decent total with the bat and somehow it seemed below-par to everyone on this pitch mainly due to the dew factor. However, Punjab were in the mood to prove everyone wrong. Rabada got rid of Ruturaj Gaikwad to set the tone but really the star of the show was the debutant, Vaibhav Arora as he bowled a brilliant spell swinging the ball both ways and got rid of in-form Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali inside the Powerplay. Arshdeep Singh and Odean Smith continued the good work and then Livingstone delivered a killer blow to get rid of Dube who was looking good. He got two wickets in that over and in the end, Chahal finished off things with three wickets to take Punjab to a comfortable win here.

In the IPL, CSK are the eighth team to lose their first three matches of a season. Mumbai Indians have lost their first three of a season across four years (2008, 2014, 2015 & 2018).

All the criticism of it is being too easy for chasing teams to win the games with dew playing its part has been answered as we have seen three games on the trot where the team defending the target has won the game. However, this one is the most convincing of them all as Brabourne seems to get more dew than in Pune and Punjab will be pretty pleased with their effort. Coming to the game, they have absolutely thrashed Chennai here and have handed the defending champions their third loss on the trot.

OUT! TAKEN! That's it, Rahul Chahar cleans up the tail and wins the game for Punjab. Shorter in length, around off. Chris Jordan goes deep in his crease and tries to muscle it over the long on fence. Jordan doesn't get much timing on it and hits it straight to Liam Livingstone who takes the catch and ends a stellar individual performance with yet another contribution. Chahar ends with three wickets. PUNJAB WIN BY 54 RUNS!

Googly this time from Rahul Chahar, turning away from the left-hander. Mukesh Choudhary edges it towards point for a single.

Tossed up, on middle. Chris Jordan looks for the big heave leg side but gets a faint inside edge past the leg stump and picks up a single towards short fine leg.

A bit dragged down, on the pads. Jordan clips it behind square on the leg side for a couple of runs.

On middle, pushed down to long on for a single.

Mukesh Choudhary is the last man in.

OUT! TAKEN! What a review from the young Punjab keeper and MS Dhoni has to depart as well! Rahul Chahar spills it down the leg side and Dhoni looks to paddle it away. The umpire signals a wide straightaway. Jitesh Sharma though seems really excited behind the stumps and calls for the review, which is eventually taken. The ball seems close to the bat and the third umpire checks UltraEdge. There is a spike as the ball passes the bat and it's a brilliant take as well from Sharma behind the stumps. The on-field decision is reversed and Chahar picks up the wicket which all but seals it for Punjab.