The tenth IPL championship for Chennai Super Kings is being headed by MS Dhoni. Because of nights like these, he has the entire nation at his fingers without even attempting. Even the umpires were powerless in his face.
He met the Gujarat Titans on a field he enjoys, the same one that used to welcome foreign teams when he served as India’s captain, and he made their comfort zone into something else entirely. In 18 chases, a team that enjoys batting second lost just four times.
It seemed as though destiny was at work in this situation. Despite their batters’ many errors, CSK nevertheless managed 172. They then blasted it around with their quicks, but the wickets were taken by short balls down leg and wide full tosses. Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana, though, who are both spinners, excelled, taking four wickets for 46 runs.
Of course, the Titans aren’t finished. They were the league’s best team, which gave them a second chance to get to the championship game. They must take advantage of that opportunity immediately in Ahmedabad against either the Mumbai Indians or the Lucknow Super Giants.
One player in particular is more familiar than most with the sense that Dhoni’s teammates have turned into extensions of his will at certain points. That inference has, to be fair, hurt Jadeja just as much as it has helped him.
In situations where the old ball was keeping low and the new ball was stopping on the pitch, the left-arm spinner was always going to be important. By the time he had it in his hands, it had also started to change noticeably.
David Miller was his second wicket, and it was miraculous. rapid rate. from the wicket’s perimeter. batting on the center stump. The batter, though, believed he had enough space to whip it away due to the angle. After a brief instant, his stumps were in chaos.
Jadeja doubled his previous mark in an IPL season with his eighth left-handed wicket.
Shubman Gill was caught by Deepak Chahar at the long-leg boundary for 42.
Shubman Gill was caught by Deepak Chahar at the long-leg boundary for 42.• Getty Pictures
He was frequently the subject of inquiries during news conferences. He’s in the side, why? Why didn’t Mitchell Santner play? What good is a spinner if they can’t get wickets in Chennai? So that’s it.
Hardik Pandya was fired by Theekshana. It appeared that the Titans captain was getting ready to challenge the bowler at the time. After entering the game at No. 3 and hitting his first ball for four, he made his second significant move. According to the reasoning, if he could stop one of CSK’s go-to men under ideal circumstances, that would stun the entire team. It was an intelligent risk. It failed to take off. There were three balls in the fight.
In an effort to increase the needed pace toward the finish of the game, Dhoni turned to Theekshana once more and bypassed Rahul Tewatia. During that time, Titans lost four wickets for a total of 26 runs in 24 balls.
Even with Rashid Khan’s heroics, recovering from 98 for 6 was impossible.
Conway vs. Gill
Devon Conway had a control percentage of 64 and was 14 off 11 at the conclusion of CSK’s powerplay. These statistics imply he was doing numerous things, but only a small percentage of them were successful. advancing along the railway. in search of those scoops. Anything. Everything. But nothing got results. He was trapped, and the Super Kings were trapped for the same amount of time. For 29 balls between the 10th and 15th overs, they failed to hit any boundaries. Conway’s control percentage dropped to 50 shortly after that. Every two balls, he was making a false shot.
Shubman Gill had unlocked batting in the interim. He made a shot that hardly made sense even from this position. Although it was a flick, he had to use less wrist since he placed it in front of short midwicket. The one factor that gives the shot its power had to be restricted, but the shot still screamed off to the boundary.
Gill could not continue to bat, Dhoni was aware. He therefore dialed Matheesha Pathirana’s number a bit early than normal. The young slinga also experienced some stage fright. In his debut IPL playoff game, he had 10 balls in his first over, including four wide balls.
Dhoni switched to plan B after Gill survived. If he couldn’t be forced out, perhaps temptation would work. On came Deepak Chahar. And he had the biggest hope for the Titans caught on the long-leg boundary with the first ball of the 14th over – a short, slow, and so very tasty ball. In the 1990s, Gill left with a control percentage. Conway triumphed in the end.
Chris Gaffaney and MS Dhoni speak about Matheesha Pathirana’s bowling availability.
Chris Gaffney and MS Dhoni speak about Matheesha Pathirana’s bowling availability.
Dhoni and the officials
Dhoni ruled after the designated batter was removed. To counter the finishers of the Titans, he still had three overs of Pathirana. And he would make use of them all, even if it meant risking a penalty for overcharging. There are 16, 18, and 20. The only person who had left the field was Pathirana. He couldn’t bowl the 16th over until he had spent the equal amount of time on and off the field. As the time seemed to be running out for him to use his death bowler, Dhoni walked to the umpires and simply had a brief conversation with them.
Dhoni acts in this manner. He argues for totals. It contributes to his allure. The greatest way to put it was by Hardik: “That’s the beauty about him. You will feel that the score has been increased by 10 runs thanks to his thoughts and the way he employs his bowlers.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 14th IPL half-century was the reason the Super Kings reached 172. While other batters gave in to the strain and faltered, he maintained his composure despite having to struggle. For instance, Rashid bowled into the wicket and at the stumps in the fifth over to bind him. The legspinner dangled one outside off because he anticipated the hitter would be trying for a release shot at this point. As he was meant to, Gaikwad pursued it, but he smacked the ball inside out over cover where there were no fielders. That shot was of the highest caliber against a bowler of the highest caliber under extreme circumstances. It demonstrated Gaikwad’s ability and his composure at the crease. He was saved on 2 out of 6 by a no-ball, which was incredibly fortunate for CSK.
