Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta was in the stands at the Dubai International Stadium to watch her team crush Chennai Super Kings by six wickets on Thursday.
The result will probably not be enough for Punjab as they need Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians - who have the same number of points (12) as them - to lose spectacularly in their final league phase games.
Anyhow, if this was their last match of IPL 2021, Punjab Kings made it a memorable one.
Chennai batted first and could only manage 134-6, with Faf du Plessis's 76 adding some respectability to their total. Punjab seamers Arshdeep Singh and Chris Jordan picked up two wickets apiece.
In reply, Punjab went all out from the start. Captain Rahul smashed eight sixes and seven fours as he finished unbeaten on 98 from 42 balls, giving his team victory in 13 overs and an outside chance of squeezing into the playoffs.
Chennai captain Dhoni insisted becoming the first team to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs has not made them complacent.
"Motivation is not a factor, the guys are highly motivated and maybe we need to tune up slightly as to what needs to be done. Also a few tosses if they had gone our way... I felt the wicket changed a bit, it was a bit challenging but it was a good wicket," Dhoni said.
