New Zealand pacer Matt Henry offered the much-needed breakthrough to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The experienced pacer bowled out the Impact Player of Punjab Kings (PBKS), Priyansh Arya, who was toying with the CSK bowlers at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Instead of sending Cooper Connolly as the opener with Prabhsimran Singh, PBKS sent Priyansh Arya, who scored a hundred in last year’s Indian Premier League, as their impact player. Arya turned hugely impactful as he scored 39 runs in only 11 balls with three 4s and four 6s.
Matt Henry clean bowled PBKS impact player Priyansh Arya
When the batter was looking almost impossible to stop, Matt Henry’s back-of-the-length delivery did the task for the home team, Chennai Super Kings.
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The ball, which was nipping away from an aggressive batter, turned the off stump into a cartwheel. Priyansh swung his bat widely but missed every part of the ball. Henry roared, CSK got their first wicket of the match, and it was big for them.
Watch the brilliant delevery here:
Matt Henry cleans up Priyansh Arya pic.twitter.com/hj3xQ0e9tB
— Nickk Knight (@KnightNick34590) April 3, 2026
Punjab Kings surprised everyone by sending Priyansh Arya as their impact player and opener
In the previous match of the Punjab Kings, Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly opened the innings for them against the Gujarat Titans (GT) and confirmed the victory for the team by smashing an unbeatable fifty-plus run knock. Many cricket fans expected to see the Aussie again as the opener’s role with Prabhsimran Singh. But to everyone’s surprise, they sent Priyansh Arya to start their run chase.
Batting first, the home team, Chennai Super Kings, registered a handsome total of 209 runs at the expense of wickets.
Stormy batting from Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, and Shivam Dube confirmed the total for the team despite losing their star batter, Sanju Samson, early in the innings. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad also showed his composure with a firing Ayush Mhatre when the team needed a stable partnership in the middle.
The wicket of Arya change the complextion of the contest again
In reply to the explosive knocks from the CSK batters, PBKS needed the same to claim the total. Priyansh Arya, taking no time, took the run rate to the sky. When he departed, PBKS had already scored 61 runs in just 4.2 overs. Matt Henry himself was too expensive against Arya. But that single delivery again changed the complexion of the contest. As of now, both teams have an equal number of chances to claim a win in Chennai.
Punjab Kings sustained another blow soon when they lost their set batter and another opener, Prabhsimran Singh. Singh was dismissed for a run out, thanks to an accurate throw by Sarfaraz Khan.
An evenly distributed contest at the MA Chidambaram Stadium between the Chennai Super Kings and the Punjab Kings. Shreyas Iyer for Punjab is making the game closer with seven wickets in hand.
Read More: Ian Bishop says sorry to Ruturaj Gaikwad during the toss of CSK vs PBKS IPL 2026 clash
