Sarfaraz Khan’s cameo, Shivam Dube’s heroics power CSK to 36th 200+ total in IPL

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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would have found themselves in yet another perilous position but were saved by two stars – an unlikely hero in the form of Sarfaraz Khan and a likely one in the form of Shivam Dube. After losing Sanju Samson for just 7 runs early on in the innings, the team found a lifeline in the form of Ayush Mhatre who struck 73 runs off 43 deliveries. However, he was dismissed in the 11th over, and CSK would have thought that that was the end to their hopes of amassing a huge total. But, that wasn’t the case.

Cricket

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Sarfaraz Khan sizzles

The Mumbai batter found a spot in the playing XI against PBKS after being used as an impact player in the previous game. And he simply did not waste that chance. He raced to 32 runs off just 12 deliveries, hammering 6 fours and one six at a strike rate of 266.67. Sarfaraz’s cameo allowed Shivam Dube to take his time before he went all guns blazing in the death overs. When Sarfaraz came into bat, CSK were 130/4 in 14 overs. But, such was the impact created by him that CSK raced to 168/5 in the next two overs when the batter was finally dismissed.

Shivam Dube takes charge

Coming out to bat at number 4, Dube managed to score just 14 runs off the first 14 deliveries that he faced. However, he switched on in the death overs, and proved why he is one of the best middle-order batters that CSK have. He finished with 45 runs from just 27 deliveries, having hammered 5 fours and one six, at a strike rate of 166.67. He scored 26 runs in the form of boundaries between overs 17-20.

As a result of the cameos from Sarfaraz and Shivam, CSK managed to register their 36th 200+ score in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the most by any team thus far. This also marked the sixth time that CSK had gone past the 200-run mark against Punjab Kings in the league.