IPL 2019, CSK vs KXIP: Statistical highlights - du Plessis, R Ashwin set records

Du Plessis made 54 off 38 deliveries in his team’s 160-3, a total their bowlers defended after restricting Punjab to 138-5 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis struck a brisk half-century in his first Indian Premier League game of the season to help Chennai Super Kings outplay Kings XI Punjab by 22 runs on Saturday. Du Plessis made 54 off 38 deliveries in his team’s 160-3, a total their bowlers defended after restricting Punjab to 138-5 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Chennai Super Kings cricketer Faf Du Plessis celebrates after scoring fifty(AFP)

Du Plessis put on 56 runs stand with Shane Watson for the first wicket and this is the first stand of thirty plus by CSK openers in 2019. Also, this was the first instance where CSK didn’t lose a wicket in the powerplay this season. Moreover, Du Plessis smashed four biggies is his innings which is joint most sixes by a CSK batsman in an inning in IPL 2019.

Local boy Ravinchandran Ashwin, who was playing against his former team CSK, had a good game with the ball as he scalped three crucial wickets for the away side. Ashwin finished with a bowling figures of 3/23 which is his joint fourth best in IPL career. Ashwin also completed 50 T20 wickets at Chepauk, the most at any ground for him in T20s.

KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan held the KXIP innings by putting 110 runs stand for the third wicket which is the joint third best stand for KXIP against CSK in IPL for any wicket. During the course of this partnership, Sarfaraz scored his maiden IPL fifty while Rahul completed his 12th fifty in the cash-rich league.