The difference between 190 and 210 is not that big on paper but in real terms and on a cricket field, it could make or break campaigns.
At 172/5 in the 18th over in Match 50 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings, boosted by a brilliant 47-ball 88 by Sam Curran and 32 by Dewald Brevis, were looking at a total of 200+ because they had MS Dhoni, one of the best finishers in the game, at the crease.
It would have needed a few lusty blows from him to take them to 210 or 220 and an opportunity to win the match and keep alive their slim chances of making it to the playoffs.
But a sensational hat-trick in the penultimate over of the innings by spinner Yuzvendra Chahal changed the course of the match as the Punjab Kings bundled out CSK to 190 in 19.2 overs and PBKS went on to win the match by four wickets.
Feeling very good, it was the 19th over, and in front of me was Mahi bhai, felt it could go either way, but the plan was to go for wickets. Five fielders were inside, and the plan was to bowl on the stumps and also to bowl wide, not bowl easy balls and play with the batter's mind.
After a wide on the first ball, Dhoni struck Chahal for a big six down the ground, jumping out to a tossed-up delivery on the middle stump. But Chahal had his revenge on the next ball, bowling a leg break outside off stump that Dhoni tried to hit down the ground once again but failed the fielder at long-on.
Deepak Hooda scored a double on the next delivery but sliced a catch off the next ball. On the next two deliveries, Chahal had Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmad and completed the first hat-trick of the 2025 season and the second of his career.
Chahal celebrated with gusto, and the spinner said the total of 190 could be chased successfully. "That (his unique celebration) came from a meme so I thought that any time I get a five-wicket haul or a hat-trick I will celebrate with that. It looked like 190 was a good total to chase and when the ball got older, it started to turn a little, but I think this is a good total to chase still," said the 34-year-old spinner from Jind, Haryana.
The sensational hat-trick helped PBKS restrict CSK to a manageable score. But the psychological impact of the hat trick was bigger.
PBKS rode on half-centuries by Prabhsimran Singh and skipper Shreyas Iyer to reach 194/6 in 19.4 overs. Prabhsimran Singh scored his third half-century and sixth overall in 34 balls, finally getting out for 54. Shreyas Iyer blasted 72 off 41 balls as they shared a 72-run partnership that laid the foundation for their victory.
In between PBKS lost Nehal Wadhera for five but Shreyas and Shashank Singh (23) took the score to 180. They then lost Shashank and Iyer in quick succession but Josh Inglis (6 not out) and Marco Jansen (4 not out) ensured they reached the target and won by four wickets.
With this, Punjab Kings secured their sixth win in 10 matches and took their tally to 13 points, moving to second position in the points table behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru (14).
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 190 all out in 19.2 overs (Sam Curran 88, Dewald Brevis 32; Yuzvendra Chahal 4-32, Marco Jansen 2-30) lost to Punjab Kings 194/6 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 72, Prabhsimarn Singh 54; Khaleel Ahmed 2-28, Mateesha Pathirana 2-45) by four wickets.
