IPL 2021: Faf du Plessis' 76 takes CSK to 134/6 against PBKS

Dubai [UAE], October 7 (ANI): A resilient knock from opener Faf du Plessis helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) post a defendable score of 134/6 in their allotted twenty overs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 encounter here at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
du Plessis played the most crucial innings of 76 for CSK, as only three other batters reached the double-figure mark for the three-time champions. For Punjab, Arshdeep Singh and Chris Jordan scalped two wickets each while Ravi Bishnoi and Mohammad Shami returned with one apiece.
Put into bat first, Chennai had a horror start as Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali returned to the dressing room in the first powerplay. Arshdeep Singh removed Gaikwad and Ali in the 4th and 6th over of the innings, respectively. CSK's score read 30/2 after six overs.
PBKS pacers continued with their brilliance as they provided no respite to CSK's batters after the powerplay. Chris Jordan removed Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu in the 7th and 9th over, as things went from bad to worse for the team in yellow.
MS Dhoni tried to rebuild the innings with du Plessis, but Ravi Bishnoi got the better of Chennai's skipper in the 12th over. Bishnoi clean bowled Dhoni for 12 off 15 balls as CSK's score read 61/5 after 12 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja then joined du Plessis on the pitch and the duo started rebuilding the CSK innings. The pair stood firm and propelled CSK to reach the triple-figure mark in the 18th over of the innings. In the same over Faf du Plessis reached his half-century.
In the last two overs of the match, CSK gathered 26 runs with the loss of just one wicket in the form of du Plessis. The South African batter walked back after scoring 76 off 55 balls.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 134/6 (Faf du Plessis 76, Ravindra Jadeja 15*; Arshdeep Singh 2-35, Chris Jordan 2-20) vs Punjab Kings. (ANI)