New Delhi [India] April 9 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has shared his thoughts on the Chennai Super Kings' performance against the Punjab Kings.

While speaking on Jio Hotstar, Uthappa said that the team's middle overs were their downfall. Despite a strong start, they failed to maintain momentum and lost control of the game. Uthappa highlighted the importance of big overs after the powerplay to keep the pressure on the opposition, which the team failed to achieve.

Speaking on Jio Hotstar Match Centre live, he criticized the lack of intent in the middle overs, which ultimately resulted in a challenging target of 42 runs in the final two overs.

'They started well, scoring almost 9.8 or 9.9 runs per over, which is as good as you can expect with the kind of openers they have. But you can't let the game slip in the middle overs, especially when chasing a big total. Approach in the overs from 7 to 12 were very quiet. You need big overs right after the power play to keep the pressure on the opposition. Winning the powerplay is one thing, but owning the middle overs is what wins you games, and they failed to do that, again. In the last two overs, they needed 42 runs, which is just too many. Had they managed a couple of 15 to 20 run overs in the middle, that equation could have come down to needing just 22 to 25 runs at the end. The intent just wasn't there.' Jio Star expert Robin Uthappa said while speaking on Match Centre Live on JioHotstar. Uthappa emphasized how Punjab Kings' use of multiple home venues this season is affecting their home-ground advantage, he said 'That's what's delaying their ability to make a venue a true fortress. Winning at home matters, and for that, you need a consistent home venue. Even at New Chandigarh, the pitch has been playing well and producing good totals. But how do you defend those scores without understanding the nuances of the ground? You only gain that knowledge of what's defendable and chaseable by playing repeatedly at the same venue. It's still a relatively new ground, and adding Dharamshala into the mix delays that learning curve even more. That kind of familiarity takes time.'

Opener Priyansh Arya's first Indian Premier League (IPL) century assisted the home team Punjab Kings (PBKS) in accumulating 219 runs and securing a win over five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who were defeated in the match by 18 runs.

He achieved his century in only 39 balls. This marks the eighth IPL century by an uncapped player in the tournament's history, following Shaun Marsh (Australia in IPL 2008), Manish Pandey (India in IPL 2009), Paul Valthaty (India in IPL 2009), Devdutt Padikkal (India in IPL 2021), Rajat Patidar and Yashasvi Jaiswal (India, IPL 2022), and Prabhsimran Singh (India, IPL 2023).

After this defeat, CSK is placed in the 9th position with four losses in five matches, and PBKS is placed in the 4th position with three wins out of their four matches. CSK will now play defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, and PBKS will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. (ANI)