New Chandigarh, April 8 (IANS) The batting unit of five-time winners Chennai Super Kings faltered again while chasing a big total as Punjab Kings registered an 18-run victory in Match 22 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

Devon Conway’s 69-run contribution alongside cameos by Shivam Dube (42) and Rachin Ravindra (36) were not enough on the night after Priyansh Arya’s blazing maiden IPL ton powered the home side to 219/6 in the first innings.

For Punjab, Lockie Ferguson claimed two wickets on the night while Glenn Maxwell and Yash Thakur provided important breakthroughs to keep in control of the second innings.

Although if one were to compare wickets in hand, Chennai navigated the power-play without the loss of one, but were not able to maintain the ever-growing run-rate. New Zealand duo Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway raised 61 runs before the former tried to advance down the pitch and was stumped way out by wicket-keeper Prabhsimran Singh.

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s (1) lean run at the No.3 position continued as he was caught by Shashank Singh at short mid-wicket. Impact substitute Shivam Dube (42) showed glimpses of his big-hitting prowess and stitched an 89-run stand with Conway.

The former brought his half-century in 37 balls, having slowed down after an initial burst, but struggled to find the boundary. Just when it seemed like they could bring the game back in CSK’s favour, he was cleaned up by Ferguson to end his time at the crease.

The crowd went into a frenzy as Mahendra Singh Dhoni (27) walked out to bat, higher than his usual position these days and he even made the fans believe for a minute. After rotating the strike against Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16th over, the talismanic wicket-keeper batter sent Ferguson for consecutive sixes.

With Conway unable to find the boundary since hitting a six in the 14th over, CSK quite boldly decided to send in Ravindra Jadeja and retire the Kiwi batter.

Dhoni followed it with a four and a six off Arshdeep Singh in the penultimate over and brought the target down to 28 runs required off the last over. In an anti-climactic finish, a full toss by Yash Thakur saw Dhoni hammer it to Chahal straight at short fine leg. Jadeja hit a six later in the over, but the Super Kings were handed their fourth straight defeat.

In the first innings, after electing to bat first, Priyansh Arya gave the Punjab Kings the perfect start by smashing Khaleel Ahmed’s delivery for a six on the first ball of the game before being dropped by the bowler on the very next delivery and proceeded to hit the quick for 17 in the opening over.

However, Chennai hit back by claiming important scalps of Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, and Marcus Stoinis. Ashwin certainly showed glimpses of his great self on the night when he dismissed Nehal Wadhera (9) and Glenn Maxwell (1) in the same over to reduce the home side to 83/5 in eight overs.

From thereon out Shashank and Arya raised hell for the bowlers and stitched a 71-run stand off 34 deliveries. Arya once again rode his luck, while batting at 79, when he was caught by Mukesh Choudhary, but he stepped onto the rope and it turned into a six. He then raised his century in style by hitting three consecutive sixes of Matheesha Pathirana before edging the next ball for four to reach the three-figure mark.

Arya soon departed after reaching the century milestone, but Marco Jansen (34 not out) and Shashank continued the heavy hitting. The duo raised 65 runs for the seventh wicket, which also saw Shashank raise his third IPL half-century on the final ball of the innings.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 219/6 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 103, Shashank Singh 52*, Marco Jansen 34*; Khaleel Ahmed 2-45, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-48) defeat CSK 201/5 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 69, Shivam Dube 42, Rachin Ravindra 36; Lockie Ferguson 2-40, Glenn Maxwell 1-11, Yash Thakur 1-39) by 18 runs