Curran made an instant impression on his IPL debut with a full show
As crucial as Ambati Rayudu’s and Faf du Plessis’ fifties at Chennai Super Kings were to start their campaign off to a winning start, Sam Curran also played a significant role in their five-wicket win against the Mumbai Indians in the first match of the IPL 2020. Chosen ahead of Dwayne Bravo for the match as the West Indies were still recovering from a knee injury, Curran put on a fine show on Saturday (September 19) to leave CSK with difficult draft picks in the future.
Curran’s 1 of 28 in four overs was instrumental in restricting the Mumbai Indians to 162 of 9 and later, he came up with a vital cameo with the bat. Following Rayudu’s dismissal, Ravindra Jadeja got ahead of MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav and the left-hander hit two fours from James Pattinson before being fired by Krunal Pandya. Dhoni gave another surprise by not coming out at bat after the fourth wicket fell, instead pushing Curran up in order with a necessary 29 of 17 balls.
Curran justified Dhoni’s decision when he scored a six and a four on successive deliveries before sending a Jasprit Bumrah delivery over the fence to seal the game down to 10 on 11. Although he was fired by Bumrah, it was a good job. done as he brought the team closer to the target before du Plessis landed the final blows.
Talking to iplt20.comCurran expressed surprise at his promotion, adding that he came in with a “six-or-out” mentality, just coming out in this game. “To be honest, I was very surprised when Jadeja came out to get me ahead of MS Dhoni. It was a huge shock to me, but the plan was obviously to go out and try them, if it works out. Remove.”
Dhoni, who spoke in post-match introductions, said sending left-handers ahead of him had a “psychological aspect,” as he wanted them to take on the spinners and intimidate them.
“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, “explained Dhoni.
Dhoni also said hitting got easier as the second inning progressed on the spray, and it was one of the “learnings” of the game. “We may practice enough, but when you go to the field you need to assess the conditions and do your best. It took time for the bowlers to find the right length on this field. Many positives, but still many areas for us. to improve. In the second half there is a bit of movement until the dew falls. If you don’t lose the grounds before, you have the advantage. “
Rohit Sharma also spoke about the spray factor and highlighted the need to better adapt to pitching and at bat for longer periods. “None of our hitters went ahead for us like Du Plessis and Rayudu did for CSK. I think we were 85 in the first 10 overs. Thanks to the CSK bowlers they played well at the end to set things back. Something for us to learn We are still in the early days We all want to start really well, it is crucial in this tournament where momentum is important.
“Some things for us to learn from this game, we made some mistakes. Hopefully we will rectify them and come out smarter in the next game … We need to adapt to the fields, it improved with the dew.” “You have to close the gaps and focus on that part of the game. The opposition can tie you down, it’s about understanding what we have to do,” Rohit said.
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