‘Six-pack’ Arya does Punjab a ton of good

Mullanpur: Rookie opener Priyansh Arya delivered on his high promise with a sensational hundred before the bowlers survived M S Dhoni’s late onslaught to script an 18-run win for Punjab Kings over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL here on Tuesday.

Priyansh (103 off 42) powered Punjab to 219/6, the highest total at the venue, after the hosts lost half their side inside the

first eight overs. The youngester hit 7 fours and 9 sixes in his knock.

CSK batters have not been good enough thus far in the season but the likes of Devon Conway (69 off 49 retired out), Rachin Ravindra (36 off 23) and Shivam Dube (42 off 27) were able to take the game deep on this occasion. However, CSK fell short and ended at 201/5. It was CSK’s fourth loss in five games, while Punjab recorded their third win in four matches. The equation for CSK came down to 75 runs off the last 30 balls. Much to the delight of fans, Dhoni (27 off 12) came to bat at No. 5 after Dube’s fall in the 16th over. But it turned out to be huge ask even for Dhoni. Punjab were poor in the fielding department, dropping as many as four catches but were still able to get over the line.

Brief scores: PBKS: 219/6 in 20 overs (Arya 103, Shashank 52*; Khaleel 2/45); CSK: 201/5 in 20 overs (Conway 69 retired out, Dube 42;

Ferguson 2/40).