A solid 82-run stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad (49-ball 62) and Faf du Plessis (34-ball 48) powered Chennai Super Kings to a 9-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab on Sunday at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The heroic opening stand by CSK openers placed CSK on top the run-chase and helped their team finish the game without any hassle. KXIP, in their must-win game, have now lost their final league-stage tie to get knocked out in the hunt for a place in the top four in IPL 2020 Points Table. Punjab's 5-match winning streak has been ended with 2 consecutive defeats in the end. CSK, who finishes the tournament on a high are taking back home Punjab with them.

Chasing 154 for the win, Chennai Super Kings were off to a solid start in the run-chase as their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis notched up a solid fifty-run opening stand inside the first six overs. The match continued to slip from KXIP's grip as the CSK batters were hitting them for fours and sixes with ease. The equation went down to CSK needing 92 runs from 78 balls with all 10 wickets intact.

KXIP almost got a breakthrough as Gaikwad once appeared to be caught off Bishnoi but 3rd umpire overturned the decision, saying it hit the ground. At last, KXIP finally bagged their first CSK wicket this season after 165 deliveries by getting opener Faf du Plessis out. Faf du Plessis had to go after a well-made 48 off Chris Jordan's delivery with CSK needing 72 more from 61 balls.

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Ambati Rayudu was the new man in. Halfway through the innings, CSK who were struggling earlier in the tournament, brought up hundred in the 13th over with just 50 more runs required for the win. A good partnership flourished between Rayudu and Gaikwad to help CSK cruise towards a comfortable victory.

Earlier, Chennai won the toss and opted to field. Sensational bowling from CSK's ace bowler Lungi Ngidi restricted Punjab to 153/6 on Sunday. Kings XI Punjab got a decent start from its openers as they stitched a solid 48-run opening stand to put their team on top but Lungi Ngidi's double-strike to remove Agarwal and then skipper Rahul, pegged back Punjab in their innings.

The CSK bowlers never gave KXIP a chance to pull themselves back in the match as they continued to lose quick wickets, failing to get a good partnership. Punjab batters let their team down in the must-win clash and have been restricted at a below par total. Only Deepak Hooda (30-ball 62) managed to stand tall amidst the ruins as he scored his second IPL fifty to keep is team alive.

Playing XI (Both Teams)

CSK: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir

KKR: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami