Shreyas leads PBKS to win, CSK first out of playoff race

And so, chances of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) making the playoffs ended with a whimper. It was slim going into Wednesday's must-win match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) but the four-wicket defeat in Chennai ended all hopes with four matches to spare.

- Dhiman Sarkar

KOLKATA:

Shreyas Iyer (72; 4lb; 5x4; 3x6) made the chase of 191 look easier than it was by taking 20 runs in the 17th over off death overs specialist Matheesha Pathirana. CSK had got that far through Sam Curran's 47-ball 88 (his highest in IPL) and his 78-run stand with Dewald Brevis but the innings was waylaid by Yuzvendra Chahal's four-wicket haul in the 19th over, which included the season's first hattrick.

PBKS may have defended the lowest-ever total in IPL but they have built a team whose strength lies in chasing down any target. They did with Iyer being the glue that held the innings together. He was helped by contributions from Prabhsimran Singh (54 off 36 balls) and cameos from Priyansh Arya (23 off 15) and Shashank Singh (23 off 12).

If Punjab Kings's start was like a sharp nor'wester CSK's power-play was like slow summer day. It began and ended with dot balls and they lost three wickets in between.