That's all from this game! Chennai have cruised past Punjab. They are back and how. Punjab have put on a sorry show and need to come back better in their upcoming games. On Monday, 5th October, 2020, we have Bangalore going up against Delhi in Dubai. The action will begin at 1800 local (1400 GMT). Join us for that. Until then, cheers and take care. 

Shane Watson, the MAN OF THE MATCH, says that it feels good to play like the way he did after some quiet games. States that he opened his front leg more in this game and it worked. Adds that he and Faf compliment each other well and he loves batting with him. Watto says that the team management believe in their players and there are no panic stations. 

MS Dhoni, the Chennai skipper, says that he feels better. Adds that they did the small things right and they were looking for this kind of batting performance. States that Watson was hitting really well in the nets and the tough part is to replicate it in the match. Says that Faf is a sheet anchor for them and he confuses the bowlers with his ramp shots. Goes onto say that consistency in selection is what they bank on and Fleming has to be credited for it. Adds that looking at the first 3-4 games, they looked to restrict their opposition and he feels that the bowlers did a very good job and they bowled according to the plan. Says that the momentum was missing in their batting and that is what they got and it was great to watch Faf and Watson bat.

Faf du Plessis is there for a chat. He says that it is a lot cooler in the bubble than it is on the ground. Adds that he wanted to try to stay till the end. Says that it is good to see Watson back in form. States that in the previous game, they bowled well but batted poorly and they are trying to make sure that their batters get some runs under their belt. Hopes that the players can find their best form in their upcoming games. Credits MS Dhoni and Fleming for sticking with their players who are not in form and they play as a team who will play if they reach the final. Adds that the captain is cool and calm. 

KL Rahul, the Punjab skipper, says that it is hard to be on the losing side for so many games in a row and they will try to come back better in the upcoming games. Adds that when they started batting, the wicket stopped a bit when the spinners came in. States that if they don't get wickets, they know they would be in trouble. Says that he wanted to get a couple of wickets at the start but when they don't get it, it becomes hard after the Powerplay. Adds that all he can expect from his players is that they can keep their chins up and come back harder. 

Earlier in the day, Punjab started with the bat. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal were again in fine touch starting with a bang. Agarwal fell before the first Drinks break. Mandeep Singh and Pooran played in small bursts and their small cameos were very helpful in Punjab reaching close to the 180-run mark. They will be disappointed as it looked like they would cross the 200-run mark but they ended up with 20 runs or odd short in the end. The bowling by Chennai was very hot and cold as they started well but lost their way in the middle overs. They did well to bounce back towards the end of the innings as they bowled well in the death overs and restricted Punjab to a score below what it looked like they would score. 

There is not much to talk about with regards to the bowling by Punjab. All of their bowlers were very poor tonight as nothing seemed to click for them on the night. Their problem so far has been their death bowling. Also, their bowling throughout this innings has been a let down as this is something that KL Rahul and the coaching staff of Punjab will have to ponder about. None of their bowlers bowled well and they gave some easy runs. Their fielding was poor as well and let Chennai off the hook. Overall, it was a really poor performance from Punjab. Only Ravi Bishnoi bowled decently while others were taken to the cleaners by the du Plessis and Watson partnership. 

Annihilation! Dominance! Call it what you want, it was a battering that Chennai gave Punjab. They have cruised to victory courtesy of their openers, Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis who have stitched an unbeaten 181-run stand amongst them and have closed the game with some ease for Chennai. They never stopped pressing and breathing down on the bowlers of Punjab and they kept playing their strokes throughout the course of their batting. Chennai have had issues with their opening in the starting couple of games of the season, but it seems like they have put them to rest as this was a comprehensive batting performance from Watson and Faf du Plessis. The entire camp of the Chennai team will be all smiles all throughout the night after a difficult start to this year's tournament. MS Dhoni will be a very happy captain. 

Shami is back on. 

Chris Jordan is back into the attack. His figures so far are 2-0-30-0.