CSK has its fair share of issues, but spinning skittles certainly shouldn’t be one
Midway through the ninth, MS Dhoni spoke to Piyush Chawla when Faf du Plessis brought the ball over the fence for additional coverage. The match against Delhi Capitals was at a stage where the former captain of India has always enjoyed the puppeteer. But on Friday, at the Dubai International Stadium, the match was actually slipping away.
Piyush, with whom they played at Sharjah’s unforgiving cricket stadium just three days earlier, would have breathed a sigh of relief upon learning the dimensions of the stadium in Dubai. The simplified version of the bowling plans at this location might have been to have the batters play their shots directly from the wicket rather than letting them take the shortest, straightest route. However, on that third ball of the over, Piyush was wrong to go a little fuller, and Prithvi Shaw charged with an authoritarian inside-out drive.
Interestingly, a very different looking Delhi Capitals emerged from the PowerPlay overs. They found a reason to start Plan B early in the tournament after their early collapse against Kings XI Punjab (13 for 3 in 4 overs), sparked by their attempt to throw their bat over a sticky wicket. By the time Dhoni was ready to put Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan through their spin test, they had only scored in one run-a-ball. Neither side had made a play to take control until then, which meant that an almighty push was now on the cards in the next phase of the game.
Chawla’s intention not to bowl was perhaps correct. But Shaw, like many of the Indian batsmen in this tournament steeped in the national cricket experience, showed his ability to adjust and master spin. Such was his control that he cleverly targeted the point region back with his cut shot shortly after forcing Dhoni to move Deepak Chahar a few spaces to his right to protect the fence for additional cover.
Maintaining the sudden increase in the execution rate was perhaps easier in the end. Without a single spinner in CSK’s ranks to deflect the ball from the southpaw, Dhawan had a jump in his stride. Ravindra Jadeja, who had conceded 42 and 40 in the previous two games, did himself no favors by throwing the ball straight into Dhawan’s hitting goal and was duly welcomed with a sweep of six. Jadeja’s length also didn’t improve against right-hander Shaw, who hit him comfortably on the turn.
“If that [Chawla and Jadeja’s form] it is an area of concern because it has been a great strength for CSK, “Stephen Fleming said at the post-match press conference.” You have to think that the style of play we’ve developed over the last 12 years relies heavily on spinning, so I guess what we’re trying to do is find a different personality, but spinning still plays a role. We are just struggling to adjust and find the rhythm and style to throw down the middle. “
DC went from 36/0 in 6 overs to 88/0 in 10, which proved to be a vital acceleration as the pitch slowed and batters struggled to keep cutters away in the second half of innings. Even Chawla and Jadeja managed to regain some composure, but the damage caused by their first two terrible excesses had far-reaching consequences for CSK.
If autopsies inside the CSK locker room involved re-viewing footage from the game, then DC’s bowling tickets would be an ideal display of what to do in Dubai.
To Dhoni’s chagrin, DC not only escaped its spinning reach, but also managed to put on a show of its own that ended the pursuit of CSK. Shreyas Iyer challenged Shane Watson with his IPL pet-peeve: Axar Patel’s left arm twist that has beaten the Australian five times before. The count quickly rose to six when Axar handed out a Hit me short delivery. Watson was fooled into trying to clear the long boundary of the half-gate and failed.
“They had a game here [Dubai] and their plans, the way they bowled, showed how to play on this terrain, “admitted Fleming.
In the same period that Shaw and Dhawan capitalized, CSK hitters struggled. Axar pitched in tandem with veteran Amit Mishra, who ran about 10km / h slower than all spinners in the game and made putting it up that much more difficult. Even for the Faf du Plessis in shape. CSK crawled to 47 in 3 out of 10 overs and just couldn’t find it to make a full recovery from there.
In the end, he might lean toward DC’s bowling runs while also pointing a finger at CSK’s hitting deficiencies. CSK is the first to experience the unknown conditions at each of the three locations and has already identified several red flags in this initial process.
In the absence of Suresh Raina and the injured Ambati Rayudu, intent is lacking at the top. Fleming admitted to having confused thinking when it comes to strategies, as well as the need to spend the next six days before their next meeting doing an “examination of conscience.”
But when Dhoni ends a match with the words “I think the spinners haven’t come to the party yet,” you know where the real bone of contention is. Even more so, when CSK has arrived in the United Arab Emirates with a team full of limitations, but with the intention of building success from their spin power. Initial evaluation says CSK has quite a few issues, but spinning skittles certainly shouldn’t be one of them.
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