Top order clicks, Bowlers delivers as CSK gets one over SRH
“Third Man” Review By Kannan
Match : SRH vs CSK, IPL 2020
Date : 13th Oct, 2020
Venue : Dubai
Toss : CSK won and elected to bat
CSK campaign is back on track with a clinical performance over the Top-heavy Sun Risers by beating them comfortably by 20 runs and getting a much needed 3rd win to stay alive in the tournament. Aggressive batting by Curran at the top followed by the partnership between Watson and Rayudu ensured CSK had a par score to defend and the bowlers put up a brilliant all round show to finish the game in style.
Batting first, Curran at the Top gives CSK a thumping start
While CSK has chased all of the 7 matches they have played prior to this match and lost more games, they were hoping to bat first, put scoreboard pressure and to outwit the opponents with the spinners – The toss of the coin fell in CSK’s favor and skipper Dhoni had not hesitation to bat first. Sun Risers were taken aback with the strategy to open with Curran and he provided the much needed impetus with a 21 ball 31 with 2 sixes, putting the foot on the accelerator from ball one, though Faf fell early to a moving ball from Sandeep Sharma. When Curran was cleaned by Sandeep, he has already done the damage and provided direction for the batters to follow.
Watson Rayudu shows intent, targets Rashid Khan and dominates the middle overs
With the freedom given by the skipper to bat positive and go after the bowling, Watson and Rayudu showed intent and started to dominate, refreshing to see the change from the grafting approach in the previous games, kept the scoreboard moving and stitching a valuable 81 runs for the 3rd wicket. They hit 5 sixes between them during this period and the plan to go after Rashid khan was a master stroke as not many teams have been successful in doing so – Rashid was conquered and the ploy to contain the middle order with spin was thwarted as they went for around 8 an over, laying the platform for Dhoni & Co to strike big during the final overs.
Dhoni, Jadeja’s Cameo - 47 runs in last 4 overs
Dhoni walked out to bat at the right time and right intention with just 4 overs to go, wasting no time in blocking few as it has been the trend in previous matches, batted with aggression (21 of 13 balls) and started to hit boundaries of the pace bowlers – The 102 meter six of the Natarajan over long on with the full swing of the bat and typical Dhoni follow through was the sign of his powers still intact and belief for the fans for more of such to come in the upcoming games. Jadeja was finding gaps and placing through the third man boundaries as if this was a net session and finished it off with a six in the final over – The cameo from the CSK mates put SRH completely on the back foot as the target of 167 was never easy on the two- paced wicket.
Warner, Pandey fails at the Top, SRH off to a clumsy start
When CSK took the field, the agenda must be surely to take early wickets as SRH depends lot on the Top 3 to fire with the brittle middle and lower order – David Warner, who has found his touch little late in this tournament, got a leading edge and gave a simple catch to Sam Curran while Manish Pandey succumbed to an unnecessary run out with brilliant piece of fielding and direct hit from the “champion” Bravo. At 27/2 in 4 overs, SRH hopes rested on Bairstow to fire with the bat and Kane to do the supporting act as he does more often than not.
Spinners Strikes in the middle overs, the chase goes off track
Just when Bairstow and Kane were rebuilding and the asking rate climbing over 10 an over, Jadeja makes it even more tougher by bamboozling and cleaning up Bairstow with a quicker one. Williamson continued to build the innings by rotating the strike and hitting the odd boundaries while he saw wickets falling around him – At 117/5 in 17th over, with 40 runs needed of last 3 overs, it was a blinder expected from Kane to ruin CSK’s party which was not to be.
Death Overs – Karn prizes out Williamson, Bravo & Thakur does the finishing Act
Williamson, who played some delightful cricketing shots and scoring a splendid 57 of 39 balls, fell sweeping Karn straight into the hands of Thakur and it was left to Thakur and Bravo to close the game in the final overs. They had to withstand the scare from Rashid Khan, who was starting to connect and playing his trademark scoops, before he got out in comical manner by getting himself hit wicket and also being caught at the boundary in the last ball of 19th over – Thakur deserved the wicket for his yet another impressive display at the death overs giving nothing away.
With 21 runs needed of the last over, Bravo had fun mixing up his deliveries and closed out the game for CSK by just giving 1 run, an unbelievable feat indeed. Right from the toss of the coin, the positive batting from the batsmen, early wickets with the ball and spinners putting up a commendable show, Super Kings had a near perfect game. Peaking late in a season is not new to Dhoni’s men and they know how to turn it around at the business end of the tournament, Lets not celebrate much, take one game at a time and hope for few more wins for real “Whistle podu” moments.
Where does CSK stands at the points table?
While it was down and out few days back, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for CSK – They stand at 6th in the points table with 3 wins as of today (16th Oct) with SRH and RR sitting along and KKR marginally above us with 4 wins. The equation will definitely change with lot more game to go, MI, DC & RCB are surely going to occupy the Top 3. The competition for the 4th place is going to be interesting as couple of wins on the trot is what CSK should be aiming for.
Quick Preview for CSK Vs DC , 17th October, Sharjah
CSK takes on Delhi Capitals tomorrow at Sharjah on what should be a must win match for CSK as Delhi has nothing to lose standing at the top of the points table due to their supreme performances this season. Super Kings must continue their recent template of batting first, hopefully winning the toss, and Curran to open the batting which provided the balance to the top order. There should not be much change to the playing 11 except for Piyush, barely used in the match against SRH, to be replaced by the deserving Jagadeesan who did not have a bad outing on his debut.
It is a golden opportunity for the Super kings to get one against a depleted Delhi Capitals, with Shreyas and Pant, the fulcrum of their batting unit, likely to miss out due to injuries. Their batting looks weaker without these two and the onus will be on Shikar Dhawan to deliver at the top if Delhi aims to score anywhere above 160. However, they have the bowling firepower, with the fearsome paceman in Rabada and Nortje ( who bowled the fastest ball in IPL history in their previous match against RR clocking 156 kph) and the in-form spinners in Ashwin and Axar to trouble even the best of batting line ups.
CSK should mix aggression with caution, with one of the top order batsman anchoring the innings and the rest should bat positively to target 160+ on the board which should be tough to chase on a wearing Sharjah track. They should be mindful of the fact that overs 16-20 will be difficult to up the ante against Rabada/Nortje and score as much runs before the death overs and hope for yet another Dhoni-Jadeja show business end. Not to forget the “Champion” Bravo, he is due with the bat – Will it be tomorrow?
“Runs on the board, scoreboard pressure, Capitalize on Capital’s weakness in batting, Go for Glory CSK
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