Punjab are the Kings of 200 plus chases in the IPL. They’d done it eight times before Friday night, and they did it again as Priyansh Arya and Shreyas Iyer laid waste to the Chennai Super Kings bowling attack. Arya had 33 off 9 when the PBKS fifty came up in the fourth over of their innings. Shreyas was 4 off 5 before accelerating to a 26-ball fifty.

CSK are now winless after two games and what will worry them is that they were outplayed in conditions that enhance their strength. They have a strong top five. Pitches like this one, which allow them to hit through the line, makes them stronger. But the 209 for 5 they put up didn’t cover for the weakness in their bowling.

PBKS’ win was their fourth in a row against CSK at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

An 18-year-old who came into a struggling team mid-season last year and emerged as one of their best players might have had reason to believe he had established himself. But with the arrival of Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre was bumped down from opener to No. 3. Samson hasn’t been able to get going, falling for two single-digit scores, but the knock-on effect that had on Friday was that Mhatre was out there in the powerplay. And with the field up, he had the liberty to play his shots, and some of them were just so good, including a forehand smash across the line against Vyshak Vijaykumar.

Mhatre was dismissed on the pull shot in the first game of CSK’s season. In the lead-up to this one, Mike Hussey with the whanger kept feeding him short balls and he kept working on the swivel-pull. That work paid off. The third boundary he hit – of three back-to-back – was a confident swivel-pull – and Mhatre deserves more credit for it because the first two were full balls that he had put away over mid-on to engineer that change in length from Xavier Bartlett.

Later, when the field spread and the PBKS bowlers were having success keeping others quiet with wide yorkers – Shivam Dube was 14 off 14 at one point – Mhatre dug one out for a single. That was 10.2. By 10.5, he’d found a solution for a ball the bowler thought was a banker – bringing the bat down as he had done before but this time opening the face to beat short third and backward point to their right and deep point to the left. It was a shot that combined quick thinking with perfect timing.

Mhatre was dropped on 59 and 67 and eventually fell for 73 off 43. At the time, the other end had contributed 38 off 32. The extras chipped in with 12.

Mhatre fell during a period where PBKS picked up three wickets for 20 runs in three overs. In that time, CSK’s projected score slipped from 200 to 185.

CSK’s middle order is a problem with Dewald Brevis recovering from a side injury. But it didn’t feel like a problem while Sarfaraz Khan was at the crease. As a domestic stalwart, he has seen it all and done it all. As one of the IPL’s first teenage stars, when he was sharing a dressing room with Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, he has always got T20 cricket. Some of his shots were so cool. There was one where it seemed like he’d left a bouncer, the ball going past him before he pushed his bat up at it and sent it for six over the keeper. There were several that he nonchalantly deflected to the deep third boundary and these were off deliveries that the bowler thought he had done well, either going yorker or going into the wicket without giving any room. Sarfaraz’s 32 off 12 balls carried CSK to 209 for 5. It was the first 200-plus score at Chepauk in the IPL since April 2024.

This was a day for breathtaking cameos. Arya topped Sarfaraz’s efforts with 39 off 11 balls. PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin recalled how Arya had wowed the whole coaching staff when he started batting in the camp ahead of IPL 2025. The bat speed in particular was unbelievable. But what really impressed Haddin was that when Arya joined the team ahead of this season, he had improved on his strengths. He had downed CSK with a century last year. He needed just 11 balls to down them this year. The shots were pure too. There was an on-the-up cover drive for four with zero follow-through that told CSK what they were giving him just wasn’t good enough. PBKS brought up their fifty in the fourth over. They downed more than 30% of the target inside the powerplay.

CSK’s bowlers created a little bit of pressure between the ninth and 12th overs when they were gifted Prabhsimran Singh’s wicket through a run-out and Cooper Connolly’s off a full-toss. At the start of the 13th over, PBKS’ chances of victory, according to the ESPNcricinfo forecaster, was 45%. CSK brought on Rahul Chahar to see if they could push their advantage. Shreyas whacked him for two sixes, moved from 4 off 5 to 19 off 10. PBKS’ chances of winning after those six balls was up at 65%. It didn’t take long for that figure to hit 100. Shreyas helped himself to a 26-ball fifty.

Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 210 for 5 in 18.4 overs  (Priyansh Arya 39, Prabhsimran Singh  43, Cooper Connolly 36, Shreyas Iyer 50, Nehal Wadhera 10, Shashnak Singh 14*;   Anshul Kamboj 2-43, Matt Henry 2-54) beat Chennai Super Kings 209 for 5 in 20 overs (Rutraj Gaikwad 28, Ayush Mhatre 73, Shivam Dube 45, Sarfaraz Khan 32; Xavier Bartlett 1-48, Marco Jansen 1-43, Vijayakumar  Vyshak 2-38, Yuzvendfa Chahal 1-21)  by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

The Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Panel has named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Tri- Series tour of Australia, which will also feature England.

During the tour, the team will play a total of six matches, comprising two One Day and four T20 games, scheduled for the 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, 17th, and 18th of April.

The squad departed for Australia on Friday.

Sri Lanka women’s U19 National Team for the tour of Australia:

Chamodi Praboda [c], VimokshaBalasuriya, Sanjana Kavindi, Umayangana Peiris, Nethagi Isuranjali, Shashini Gimhani, PramudiMethsara, Limansa Thilakeratne, Nethumi Upeksha, Aseni Thalagune, Chamodi Herath, Danodya Sewmini, Yeshali Jithara, Daria Dissanayake, Shayani Thennakoon

Paceman Mahiru Kodituwakku struck early to put Mahanama under pressure as Royal continued to press for the first innings advantage on day two of their Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ quarter-final at the D.H.H. Ground, Madampella on Friday.

‎Replying to Royal’s first innings total of 319, Mahanama were struggling at 244 for nine wickets at stumps, still short of the target. Eshan Withanage held the lower order together with a fighting unbeaten 46 to keep their hopes alive heading into the third day.

‎Kodituwakku dealt a severe early blow to Mahanama’s innings, claiming three wickets during an impressive opening spell. Among his victims was Sri Lanka Under-19 player Dulnith Sigera, who was dismissed without scoring.

‎However, Royal were unable to fully capitalise on Kodituwakku’s fine bowling effort as several dropped catches off his bowling allowed Mahanama to recover and build partnerships.

‎Sithum Vihanga led the resistance with a solid 70, while Sanul Weerarathne contributed 37 and Chamika Heenatigala added 32 to help Mahanama remain competitive.

‎Spinner Himaru Deshan supported the pace attack with three wickets, while Ramiru Perera chipped in with two scalps to keep Royal in a strong position at the close.

‎Earlier, Royal posted 319 in their first innings with Rehan Peiris top scoring with a superb 146. Thevindu Wewalwala made 57, while Hirun Matheesha (28) and Ramiru Perera (27) provided useful contributions. Venura Kaveethra starred with the ball for Mahanama, claiming five wickets.

‎Scores

‎Royal 319 all out in 87.2 overs

‎(Rehan Peiris 146, Thevindu Wewalwala 57, Hirun Matheesha 28, Ramiru Perera 27; Venura Kaveethra 5/86, Chamika Heenatigala 2/80)

‎Mahanama 244 for 9 in 80 overs

‎(Sithum Vihanga 70, Eshan Withanage 46 n.o., Sanul Weerarathne 37, Chamika Heenatigala 32; Mahiru Kodituwakku 3/49, Himaru Deshan 3/87) (RF)