Chennai Super Kings succumbed to their third consecutive defeat in IPL 2022 as they came crashing down to Punjab Kings by 54 runs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 3. Chasing a very competitive total of 181, Chennai Super Kings' batters never really got going as they were eventually bundled for just 126 runs. Shivam Dube waged a lone battle with a 30-ball 57 but it was surely not enough as the defending champions remained winless in the competition, getting off to their worst ever start in IPL history.  Vaibhav Arora Quick Facts: Here’s All You Need to Know About Punjab Kings Youngster

Liam Livingstone starred with both bat and ball to script this victory for Punjab Kings. With the bat in hand, he smoked the CSK bowlers all around the park to end up scoring 60 off just 32 balls. He showed his magic with the ball in hand, taking two wickets--Dube and Dwayne Bravo in one over to make sure his team bagged full points from the game. Bravo's dismissal included a terrific catch from him. Punjab, after losing their last match to Kolkata Knight Riders, have now bounced back strongly with a statement victory. Punjab Kings' debutants Vaibhav Arora and Jitesh Sharma impressed one and all as well.

While Sharma hit a few big ones and did great work behind the stumps to dismiss MS Dhoni, Arora was right on the money, wrecking CSK's chase by dismissing an in-form Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali to return with figures of 2/21 at the start of the innings. A fact that has to be noted is that there was considerably less dew today with Punjab Kings' bowlers not finding it difficult to grip the ball.

Earlier, Punjab Kings got off to a poor start, losing two wickets very early on with MS Dhoni pulling off a brilliant run out to send back Bhanuka Rajapaksa. But Livingstone had other plans in mind as he started playing the way he is known for, right from the start, scoring a powerful 60 off 32 deliveries. Shikhar Dhawan (33) and Jitesh Sharma (26) were the other contributors. CSK's bowling was much improved today with Chris Jordan (2/23) and Dwaine Pretorius (2/30) bowling economical figures, restricting Punjab to a total below 200.

Here are some stat highlights of the game:

#MS Dhoni played his 350th T20 match

#Liam Livingstone scored his 1st IPL fifty

#The Englishman hit a six that went a distance of 108 m, the biggest so far this season

#Shivam Dube struck his 2nd IPL fifty, his first for CSK.

Chennai Super Kings would aim to breathe life into their campaign when they next face Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 9. Punjab Kings meanwhile, would be very confident, having beaten the defending champions ahead of their next fixture against Gujarat Titans on April 8.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2022 11:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).