A late Yuzvendra Chahal hat-trick stole Sam Curran's thunder as Chennai Super Kings were bowled out for 190 by Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
England international Curran's first fifty of the season (88 off 47 balls, 9x4, 4x6) was overshadowed by a Chahal masterclass after the former anchored the recovery process of his side from a precarious 48 for three in the power play. With their backs against the wall, Curran teamed up with Dewald Brevis (32) to carefully plot CSK's way back into the contest with a robust 78-run fourth-wicket stand and turned on the heat on PBKS bowling.
Weaved his magic to every bit 🪄
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2025
🔽 Rewatch Yuzvendra Chahal extending his lead as #TATAIPL's all-time leading wicket taker ☝️https://t.co/qb7U8g7oTP#CSKvPBKS | @yuzi_chahal pic.twitter.com/uLXS9QneTj
Until the 16th over, CSK coasted well at nearly nine runs an over. However, once Curran departed, none of the CSK batters could ensure that the team maintained the run rate to finish strongly.
Chahal, who was wicketless until the penultimate over, was hit for a six by MS Dhoni (11) but the bowler had him caught at long off on the second delivery. On the fourth ball, all-rounder Deepak Hooda (2) played one meekly towards backward point while on the fifth, impact substitute Anshul Kamboj (0) was cleaned up.
Noor Ahmad (0) tried to put one away but ended up miscuing his shot and Jansen came in from long-on to complete the hat-trick, which was the leg-spinner's second in the IPL.
Interestingly, a low over-rate penalty meant Shreyas Iyer could only deploy four boundary riders ahead of the 19th over. Chahal was not treated with respect in his previous overs and with a known spin-basher like Dube at the crease, captain Iyer was taking a risk by summoning the leggie for another. However, IPL's all-time leading wicket-taker showed his class and lived up to his captain's expectations and delivered to ensure PBKS finished the innings strongly.
Chahal, who already managed a hattrick against KKR for Rajasthan Royals in 2022, is only the third player to have two or more hattricks in the tournament. While he is tied with Yuvraj Singh at second place, Amit Mishra leads the chart with three.
