Sam Curran-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) hosted the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Sunday, May 5. Punjab Kings elected to bowl first and restricted CSK to 167/9. Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel bagged three wickets each whereas Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran shared 3 wickets between them.

Chasing the target, PBKS were off to a poor start but a 53-run partnership between Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh kept them in the game. However, after their dismissal, Punjab Kings couldn’t get going as they were reduced to 139/9 in 20 overs to lose by 28 runs. Speaking after the match, PBKS skipper Sam Curran expressed his satisfaction over the bowling performance and lauded to Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel.

Sam Curran said: “Thought we bowled really well. Rahul Chahar and Harshal bowled really well, was pretty happy at the halfway point but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”

However, Sam Curran blamed the Dharamsala track for the loss in the match, saying that they expected the pitch to have more pace and bounce.

Sam Curran said: “The wicket was probably slower than we thought, we expected a little more pace and bounce, it was pretty similar throughout the game. Couple of days off and we go against RCB in a few days time so we need to move on and stay headstrong.”