Key points:
- For Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL13, the only thing spectacular was their uncovering.
- MI glided to win with 7.4 overs to spare and go top with Rohit Sharma resting to heal a left ankle hamstring strain.
- That is because of 2.5 overs, with Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, N Jagadeeshan, and Faf du Plessis, CSK was rejected 3/4.
- It was accurate for Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, who shares those wickets.
- If CSK got to 114/9, this was because all-rounder Sam Curran was an aberration in a squad of ageing stars.
For Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL13, the only thing spectacular was their uncovering. Coach Stephen Fleming had talked about CSK ‘s attempt to eventually run out of juice and trusted it.
The 10-wicket loss on Friday against Mumbai Indians (MI)—a first for the victors and defeated in the history of the IPL — made a claim seem understated.
Great innings by Ishan and De Kock:
Ishan Kishan (68; 37b; 4×6; 6×5) opened with Quinton de Kock (46; 37b; 4×5; 6×2) and MI glided to win with 7.4 overs to spare and go top with Rohit Sharma resting to heal a left ankle hamstring strain.
Kishan played the wicket square so well that he swept Ravindra Jadeja in reverse for a six to cross his half-century. The next ball was sent over long-on for another six, where Kishan had already sent Imran Tahir to finally get a game.
Bad day for CSK Batting Order:
Rarely would a T20 end even before the game’s third over as a match. That is because of 2.5 overs, with Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, N Jagadeeshan, and Faf du Plessis, CSK was rejected 3/4.
Yes, it was accurate for Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, who shares those wickets, but it was a lack of footwork and, in the case of Rayudu, a bravado that deranged the top order.
The circumspect charge of Ravindra Jadeja on Boult extracted his third wicket for the New Zealander, and when MS Dhoni and Deepak Chahar were crept by the flight of Rahul Chahar, it revealed that the malaise had extended to the middle order.
Sam Curran The Star for CSK:
If CSK got to 114/9, this was because all-rounder Sam Curran was an aberration in a squad of ageing stars. He made 52 (47b; 4×4; 6×2), three of his boundaries came in the last over bowled from Boult (4/18) before Curran fell with a yorker to the left-arm to finish the innings.
It was so strong the pull with which Curran reached his half-century that it went close to a fine-leg fielder but gave him no opportunity.
For the eighth wicket, Curran and Tahir (13) added 43. In the second half of the innings, CSK lost two wickets, but the match was won and lost much earlier.
