"Key moment was those two wickets in one over": CSK's Eric Simons

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 6 (ANI): Following the victory against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League 2024, Chennai Super Kings assistant coach Eric Simons hailed the uncapped right-arm seamer Tushar Deshpande for his performance on Sunday.

Fiery spells from Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande and Simarjeet Singh triggered a massive batting collapse and helped CSK beat PBKS by 28 runs at Dharamsala. The defending champions have gone up to third place in the points table with six wins and five losses. Sam Curran-led side is at the eighth spot with four wins, seven losses and just eight points.

"All the way through you find little moments. You never know what the wickets are like till both teams have batted. So, did we get enough runs? One doesn't really know, but I suppose the key moment, the real key moment was those two wickets in one over, not just the two wickets, but also the people, the individuals who he (Tushar) got out," Simons said in the post-match press conference.

"So to me, that's where we put them under pressure. But we could have ended up at 140. So to get to the 160 and put a bit of pressure on the scoreboard did help. that over made a massive difference," former South African cricketer added.

Simons said Simrajeet bowled really well in the match. The 62-year-old further stated that he was very pleased with Simarjeet's performance where he took one wicket and conceded just 16 runs in his spell of three overs.

"We've had a few guys that who haven't been able to play. And working away from the initial 11, 12 has been important. Someone like Simarjeet, for him to come in and do what he did tonight was very important. It was obviously, you know, his first game, the nerves are there. So to get the wickets that he did is magical for him. I'm very, very pleased," CSK assistant coach stated.

"So to make sure that the whole squad's ready, because we never know when we're going to call them. I think that's important. But I don't think we'll be over concerned about the middle order. We know the quality is there and it might not have happened this game, but as we move forward I'm sure they'll fire again," he added.

Recapping the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to field first. CSK lost their wickets at regular intervals. It was knocks from Ravindra Jadeja (43 in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes), Ruturaj Gaikwad (32 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Daryl Mitchell (30 in 19 balls, with two fours and a six) that took CSK to a respectable 167/9 in their 20 overs.

Rahul Chahar (3/23) and Harshal Patel (3/24) were the pick of the bowlers for PBKS. Arshdeep Singh got two wickets while Sam Curran got a wicket too.

In the run-chase, PBKS lost two wickets early, with Tushar Deshpande (2/35) striking for Men in Yellow, but Prabhsimran Singh (30 in 23 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Shashank Singh (27 in 20 balls, with four boundaries) helped them recover with a 53-run partnership. However, Ravindra Jadeja (3/20), Mitchell Santner (1/10) and Simarjeet Singh (2/16) helped CSK make a stunning comeback and restrict Punjab to 139/9 in their 20 overs.

Jadeja received the 'Player of the Match' performance for his three wickets and a knock of 43. (ANI)