For the first time in their five games so far this season in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings' opening pair managed to see off the powerplay in pursuit of Punjab's daunting 220-run target.
The New Zealand pair of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra steamrolled past Punjab's bowling unit and raised 61 in 6.3 overs.
After a successful powerplay, Chennai tottered in the middle overs after losing Rachin (36) and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) cheaply.
Conway then added another 89 runs for the third wicket with Shivam Dube (42).
As the asking rate spiralled to 17 in the last four overs, Conway was swapped for Ravindra Jadeja.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni hammered a quick-fire 27 from 12 deliveries, including three towering maximums, but holed it to Yuzvendra Chahal on the first ball of the final over as CSK fell 18 runs short of victory.
"The positives are we batted a bit better. We've had some substance from the top order, which was a bit lacking, so we were able to then construct the chase.
"We just weren't able to keep the run rate at a good level through the middle, and it was just too much towards the end. But we've been in the game for a lot longer, which is a positive aspect," he said.
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