IPL 2018 | CSK vs KXIP- Winners and Losers ft. Lungi Ngidi, KKR and poor umpiring
Chennai Super Kings pulled off a routine win over Kings XI Punjab despite an initial stumble and numerous nervy moments in the game. However, while the game saw an unlikely star in Lungi Ngidi, who rose to the occasion to dismantle Punjab batsmen, it also encountered some cringeworthy umpiring.
Winners
Lungi Ngidi - CSK
Both Chennai Super Kings and their South African speedster looked like the winner today. Coming to IPL after two years and fighting with a largely aged squad, CSK
Rajasthan Royals
If one had asked a Rajasthan fan earlier this week after their game against Kolkata Knight Riders, when they not only lost the game but also Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes who were called back in England, they would have clearly denied any sort of qualification chances for the playoffs. However, such has been the uncertainty of IPL that after they managed to topple Royal Challengers Bangalore, contrary to the popular belief, with a below par squad they still had to rely on the results of Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab to assure their playoffs spot. And the Gods have favoured them brilliantly with both the star-studded sides losing Delhi Daredevils and CSK respectively, setting a virtual quarter-final between KKR and RR now.
Losers
Kolkata Knight Riders
The way Kings XI Punjab started the second innings, KKR fans would surely have had their hopes up. CSK were down to 27/3 with Ambati Rayudu, Faf du Plessis, and Sam Billings all returning to the pavilion and the Pune pitch behaving like a sworn enemy for the hosts. The situation was so grave that skipper MS Dhoni decided to send Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar ahead of him to bat. However, some horrendous miss by Punjab fielders saw Chennai batsmen going into safety. While KXIP had to limit CSK within 100 runs to take the fourth spot on the table, KKR needed CSK to get all-out with 76 runs to go to the second place. However, CSK’s experienced lot ensured that they go over the line just in time.
Umpiring
For the biggest domestic T20 league in the world at the moment, which is known for its star cast and cut-throat competition, this season has seen a steep drop in their umpiring. It took BCCI years to introduce DRS in the league and it has split open the existing gaps in umpiring standards that IPL had endured for the last 10 years. And with the league stages coming to an end, the last day saw more terrible calls by the field officials. After CK Nandan gave arguably the worst decision in the IPL history, the second game of the day saw the umpire giving a bizarre decision in Ankit Rajpoot’s over in the second innings. After one of his blatantly short
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