Sam Curran braved testing conditions to produce an imperious 88 but his knock went in vain as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a crushing loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The loss meant CSK were eliminated from the IPL 2025 playoffs race. It was Curran’s first half-century of the season, coming at a crucial juncture after CSK had lost three early wickets after being put into bat by PBKS. Curran and Dewald Brevis combined with a robust 78-run fourth-wicket stand and turned on the heat on PBKS bowling.
After completing his half-century, Curran was seen making a phone gesture towards someone in the CSK camp. Curran, who was released by PBKS last season, has played just four games for CSK this season, with his gesture hinting that he should’s played more this season.
He’s been busy at the crease today
Sam Curran with a and going strong
His first of the season
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2025
Following his dismissal in the 18th over, Curran had a visible altercation with the PBKS management as he was walking back to the dressing room. In a viral video, Curran was gesturing something towards the PBKS dugout.
Sam Curran seems to having issue with Punjab management pic.twitter.com/8qNS3aA2XU
— MSDian (@NitinMudiyala) April 30, 2025
CSK are out of the playoffs race for the second successive season, which is happening for the first time ever.
For the first time in their IPL history, CSK have registered five successive losses at Chepauk.
Both teams are level at 16-16 in head-to-head battle, and PBKS are more dominant in recent outings. PBKS have defeated CSK in seven of their last eight games, including three wins at Chepauk during their three visits since 2023.
Coming to the match, PBKS won the toss and opted to bowl first. CSK was 48/3 at one point, then a 78-run stand between Sam Curran and Dewald Brevis (32 in 26 balls, with two fours and a six) helped them get back in the innings. Curran continued to fire single-handedly, making 88 in 47 balls, with nine fours and four sixes. CSK was bundled out for 190 in 19.2 overs. It was a hat-trick from Yuzvendra Chahal (4/32) that made CSK collapse from 172/4 to 190 all out.
Arshdeep Singh (2/25) was also superb with the ball.
During the run-chase, Priyansh Arya (23 in 15 balls, with five fours) and Prabhsimran Singh gave PBKS a quick start with a 44-run stand. A 72-run stand between Prabhsimran (54 in 36 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and skipper Shreyas Iyer solidified PBKS’ control over the game. Iyer continued to take control, scoring 72 in just 41 balls, with five fours and four sixes and stitching a partnership with Shashank Singh (23 in 12 balls, with a four and two sixes). PBKS did lose wickets towards the end, but won by four wickets with two balls left.
(With ANI Inputs)
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