Chennai Super Kings knock Kings XI Punjab out of the playoffs

Chennai Super Kings beat the Kings XI Punjab team by five wickets at the MCA International Cricket Stadium in Pune on May 20, 2018.

With this, the hopes of the Preity Zinta owned team making it to the last four playoffs of the IPL 2018 was dashed. They had to win this game by 53 runs or more to get into the playoffs.

Dhoni finished the game off by pulling the short ball over the long leg boundary, and then calmly tips the bails over.

Final scores: Chennai win by five wickets.

KXIP 153 (19.4 Ovs) Karun 54 (26) 3 fours and five sixes

CSK 159/5 (19.1 Ovs) Suresh Rain (61)

The two teams previously met this season, and Punjab had beaten Chennai at Mohali in that occasion.

Chennai had already qualified into the playoffs by winning eight out of their thirteen games and is currently placed at the second position on the points table. Kings, on the other hand, was placed at the seventh position on the points table. They have won six out their thirteen games.

They had to make sure that their net run rate doesn't slip behind Kolkata Knight Riders, else they won't end up in the top 2. A win or loss wouldn't have affected their campaign, but they would like to end the league stages with a win.

Kings XI Punjab:

They would have to make sure they win this game by a huge margin to make sure they go through to the playoffs. This was a do-or-die game for them as their campaign had gone completely wrong after the mid-season.

Pitch: The Pune pitch has generally been good for batting, and we can expect it will be the same for this game too.

Weather: The weather was good enough for the players not to feel uncomfortable playing.

Related read: 2018 IPL Playoffs: Schedule,TV Telecast and Star Sports Live Streaming

Also read: Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab live cricket streaming on Hotstar