CSK vs KXIP, IPL 2018 Live Cricket Score: Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 5 wickets

Okay! Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Rajasthan are our final four. Surprised? Definitely. Not seeing Mumbai over there does raise questions. But well done to the other teams. The first two have been consistent, which is why they get two bites of the same cherry. Hyderabad and Chennai face off in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 1330 GMT (1900 local). The winner moves to the final while the loser gets another chance - awaiting the winner of the Kolkata-Rajasthan clash in the Eliminator in Kolkata on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 1330 GMT (1900 local). Join us for the clashes! ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

LUNGI NGIDI has been named the MAN OF THE MATCH for his 4/10 with the ball. Says that he really enjoyed bowling tonight and on seeing Chahar's opening over, he was grinning and eager to bowl. Praises MS Dhoni for his cricketing brain and credits him for helping him develop as an individual.

Victorious Chennai skipper Dhoni has a reason for the experiment of sending pinch-hitters. He says that the ball was swinging and Punjab were concentrating on getting the wickets. At such stages, when a pinch-hitter is sent, it creates a chaos and that is exactly what happened. On Chennai's unbroken record of making it to the Playoffs every season, MS credits the team management and the support staff. Says that having the same core unit does help. Maybe after 2 years that core will dissipate but these 10 years have been great for the franchise he says. On Chennai's success, he says that every side has highs and lows, just that on that particular day, one needs to be at his best. But if things do not go your way, then you need to accept your fate as well.

Sad way for Punjab to exit. Their bowling made a match of it in the Powerplay but once the ball got older, they found it difficult to control the proceedings. Rajpoot was superb but the leading wicket-taker Andrew Tye struggled big time. Earlier in the evening, another poor batting performance from Punjab saw them scrape past 150. Karun Nair gave them some respect but otherwise, it was a shoddy effort. They had no answer to Lungi Ngidi as he was superb tonight. Time for the presentation...

One might question Dhoni's tactics of sending two pinch-hitters at the top, but given that they had one foot already in the Playoffs, their management will not mind. And Chahar's promotion did pay off.

A comfortable win for Chennai, even though the scorecard does not show it. They were rocked early in a chase of a modest 154 but they experimented as well. Harbhajan was dropped on 0 and that could have cost them had the catch been taken. But Bhajji and later Deepak Chahar's cameo along with Raina's finesse took Chennai home.

'ALL-ROUNDER' Deepak Chahar is in next for an interview. Says that he was lucky to have got an opportunity to get to bat tonight and he made full use of it. On the bowling, he says that the ball was swinging early on and he just ensured that he landed the ball in the right areas. Agrees that his own confidence and that of the team is sky high. On his improvement in his career, Deepak says that before this tournament, he was a slow bowler but in this league, he has upped his pace. Clarifies that SHANE WATSON WAS RESTED TONIGHT and is not injured. Further says that he too, would have been rested had Kolkata lost their final game to Hyderabad.

Punjab captain, Ravichandran Ashwin sighs on having yet another poor day at the office. Reckons that the batting was the area where the game was lost and credits Karun Nair for making a match out of it. Praises his bowling and wishes that Aaron Finch had taken the catch of Harbhajan Singh. Admits that the middle and lower order has not contributed at all and in the second half of the season, the batting simply did not perform at all, not giving enough support to Lokesh Rahul. Also is blunt enough to say that Punjab have been sloppy in the field and the game against Bangalore was the one which hurt them a lot (where they lost by 10 wickets on May 14). On the road ahead, Ashwin manages a smile and says that it is a new franchise. So wants to sit down with his unit and spend some time with them as he believes that a good team atmosphere will produce good results in future.

It's all over! CSK beat KXIP by five wickets

M Sharma to MS Dhoni, SIX! Done and dusted on the first ball itself. A short ball, on middle, Dhoni swivels and pulls it over backward square leg! CHENNAI WIN BY 5 WICKETS WITH 5 BALLS TO SPARE!!!

So we go to the final over. 1 run needed. How about a maiden?

A Tye to S Raina, What an anti-climax. As if Katappa does not fight so that Baahubali gets the credit and finishes off the demon. Aaah... too filmy. Full and outside off, watchfully defended. Raina wants Dhoni to finish this off. So does the crowd.

A Tye to S Raina, FOUR! Toying with the bowling now. Another short ball, Raina pulls it past short fine leg for a boundary to level the scores!

A Tye to S Raina, MISFIELD! FOUR! A length ball outside off, Raina backs away and slices it towards cover. The fielder comes running in but in his excitement, overruns the ball and it goes past him!

A Tye to S Raina, SIX! A well-earned half century for Mr. Raina. Took his time and is now coming into his own. Gets a length ball and swats it right back over the bowler. Seems mistimed as that came off the bottom half of the bat. But the timing was such that it cleared long on.

FIFTY for Suresh Raina off 45 balls. CSK 145/5 in 18.3 overs

A Tye to S Raina, Works it through mid-wicket and gets a brace now.

A Tye to S Raina, SIX! VIOLENCE! A short ball on middle, Raina pulls this over mid-wicket for a biggie! 17 more needed from 11 balls now.

Andrew Tye to bowl the 19th over.

M Sharma to MS Dhoni, FOUR! TONK! A short ball on middle, Dhoni pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary.