When Ambati Rayudu fell 71 after making a 115-run stand for the second wicket with Faf du Plessis, the Chennai Super Kings still needed 42 of 24 balls against the Mumbai Indians in the opener of the 2020 IPL.
Conventional wisdom suggested that either Kedar Jadhav or MS Dhoni, one of the two all-time hitters, would come out at No. 5 to lead the Super Kings to victory, but Ravindra Jadeja came out. It appeared that Dhoni was employing the tried and tested method of going with a right-left-hand hitting combination to alter the rhythm of the Mumbai Indians bowlers as James Pattinson prepared to pitch 17th. The plan seemed to work, with Jadeja making ten runs on four balls and Pattinson losing 13.
But Jadeja fell to Krunal Pandya in the first installment of the 18 over, and the equation now says 29 out of 17 for the Super Kings. Are you sure MS Dhoni would leave now? Well, not quite. Super Kings rookie Sam Curran came in and crunched two sixes and four with her first five balls before falling to Bumrah with ten balls to play. The game was now really in the hands of the Super Kings. With a necessary ten out of ten, du Plessis and Dhoni, who finished with 0 and not out, finished the game with four balls to spare.
Was it a tactical move or something from Dhoni’s famous instinct that made him push Curran ahead of him and Jadhav?
“At some point, I thought we had to give Jadeja and someone like Sam [Curran] to move on in the batting order and express himself, “Dhoni said after the game.” They still had two spinners left, and we tried to intimidate the bowler a bit, it was just a psychological aspect. We know we hit pretty deep and we wanted them to go after the pitcher. If you delete one or two [sixes], then it’s easier for the hitters to follow. “
Curran, who had taken 1-for-28 before, said Dhoni’s play “surprised” even him. “In fact, I was very excited when I went to [the] Chennai [team]”said the SUV from England.” I have not met many guys, directly on the bus, I have not had much to think about, I landed two days ago [from the England-Australia series] and directly there to do what I do.
“To be honest, very surprised that I entered [at No. 6] but he’s a genius, he obviously thought something. Big win at the end. I think [left-right combination was his plan]. That [18th over from Pandya] it was the ending we wanted to aim for: a six-or-off focus mentality. Take a chance, and if it comes out, it comes out, if not, it doesn’t. “
Dhoni also said that the key to the victory was to adapt quickly to the bowling conditions on offer in Abu Dhabi. “You can practice a lot, but when you go out, you need time to gauge what a good length is at this wicket,” said Dhoni. “[In the first innings]I felt that if there is not much swing, it is better to set the length back a bit. Initially, the Mumbai Indians hit well and pressed.
“Overall very positive, there are still some areas for improvement. What will the teams learn? [is] what if the party [start] the time is the same, that in the second half you will have a little movement if the ball is not wet “.
The Mumbai Indians, who lost their eighth consecutive season start, were hurt because their hitters didn’t expand their starts, according to captain Rohit Sharma.
“Our hitters didn’t continue once they came in like Du Plessis and Rayudu did,” Sharma said. “You have to make it worth your while when you’re in, that’s something we couldn’t do. We were 15-20 short and we should have continued from 80 and something on the ten plus mark. [to a better total]. But the merit of the CSK bowlers is that they kept us guessing the whole time. Some things for us to learn from his game and that we don’t make those mistakes. First days but credit to CSK.
“We have to understand and adapt to the fields. The field improved towards the end with the dew. It’s not that we haven’t played on bigger fields. [like the Abu Dhabi stadium]. We have to try to get past those gaps and make sure we get singles and doubles, and focus on that part of the game as well. It’s not just about getting it right. It is about understanding what one should do and it is something that we cannot do today. “
.
