WATCH | CSK vs PBKS: MS Dhoni falls first ball off Harshal Patel

Coming into bat at the penultimate ball of the penultimate over of the Chennai Super Kings innings, former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was dismissed for a golden duck by Punjab Kings seamer Harshal Patel.

The legendary wicket-keeper batter joined Ravindra Jadeja in the middle after Patel dismissed Shardul Thakur for an 11-ball 17. With CSK at 150/7, Thakur's stumps were rattled when an effort to go downtown failed.

There were loud cheers as MSD walked in to replace the bowling all-rounder in the middle. However, the loud cheers soon made way for dead silence as Patel got the better of the former Indian captain. A slower ball from the Punjab seamer, full and on off, surprised MSD. He tried a weak slog to the leg side but ended up missing out completely. The ball went past him, untroubled, and took down the off stump.

Harshal Patel got three scalps in all, Dhoni being the last. He just gave away 24 runs from his four overs -- the second-best figures among PBKS bowlers behind Rahul Chahar (4.0-0-23-3-5.75).

WATCH MS DHONI'S GOLDEN DUCK DISMISSAL AGAINST PBKS HERE:

Meanwhile, pundits questioned the Chennai franchise's decision to send the in-form veteran so down the batting order. It was not justifiable to send Dhoni, who is in good touch this season, after Shardul Thakur. If MSD was promoted ahead of Thakur, he could have been more impactful at Dharamsala, they said.

IPL 2024: Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings | As it happened

Leg-spinner Chahar and Patel picked up three wickets apiece as Punjab Kings dished out a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Chennai Super Kings to a modest 167/9 on Sunday.

Ravindra Jadeja (43), skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell (30) got starts for CSK but failed to transform their knocks into big scores.

Chahar (3/23) and Harshal (4/24) stood out with the ball for PBKS, while stand-in captain Sam Curran (1/34) and Arshdeep Singh (2/42) also registered their names in the wicket-takers list.