“What would you rather watch? A cricket match or Scott Styris?” read an IPL pulse question during the match between Chennai and Kolkata on Tuesday.
Most people had voted for a cricket match. But if a CSK fan had been asked the same question at the end of the first five overs in the second innings, the answer would have made Scotty happy.
KKR were running away with the game. Yet another one-sided match involving CSK seemed to be looming large.
The twist
Chasing a modest total of 134, Kolkata Knight Riders got to a score of 50 in the first five overs. Having lost skipper Gautam Gambhir early, Robin Uthappa counter-attacked. He and Manish Pandey were toying with CSK’s medium pacers. The duo brought the required run rate down to less than five runs an over.
It looked like Dwayne Bravo wouldn't get a chance to get his dancing shoes on. MS Dhoni wouldn’t get a chance to add yet another stump to his collection. Suresh Raina wouldn’t be able to tug at one of his mates’ hair.
And then the CSK spinners were brought into the attack by their captain Dhoni.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who hasn’t really been among wickets, struck with his very first ball. The first ball wasn’t a wicket-taker. Uthappa slapped it hard. The ball flew to the finest super-fielder in the stadium, aka Mr McCullum, and he made the catch look easy.
Emboldened, Ashwin gave the ball a lot of air. He started attacking the batsmen and making them play. Manish Pandey almost let one thought the bad-pad gap. The gates were about to open.
Jadeja, from the other end, was complementing Ashwin well. More defensive in his approach, he bowled flat and contained the run flow. As the choke was put on, Manish Pandey didn’t take long to perish. Ashwin struck again with the first ball of his second over.
The spin twin’s first spell, coupled with some brilliant efforts on the field, gave Super Kings a glimmer of hope.
The super-fielders
Say most of your batsmen have failed to score big even after getting a good start from the opening batsmen. With the help of the tail, your team has huffed and puffed to score 130-odd runs in the first innings. But you still want to want to put pressure on the opposition.
If you want to make a target of 135 look like 180-plus, call in the bunch of guys in yellow, the super-fielders of Chennai Super Kings. They dive, they fly, and they do the impossible to save runs.
On Tuesday, Dhoni was lucky to have a set of fielders who were ready to throw themselves on the turf and at the ball for the team’s cause. Super Baz lead the pack, setting the tone for the other boys in the squad. He dived at point to save four runs. He ran his heart out and threw himself at the boundary ropes to save a run. He may well have saved more than he might have scored.
And then came the catch that will probably prove to be the best of this season.
It was Mohit Sharma’s second over. Surya Kumar Yadav, beaten by pace, top-edged a bouncer.
Two men came running to take the catch.
How often have we seen such a situation? Most times, the two men collide and the ball hits the ground.
But this time it was two men in yellow. One gave up, anticipating that he would not be able to get there. The other, freed of distractions, dived forward – the hardest kind – and took a one-handed blinder.
A five-over partnership that could add only 15 runs came to an end.
The end in sight
Yusuf Pathan hung in there and tried to steer the innings. But he never got going and in the end got out to a slower one from Bravo.
The CSK fielders didn’t let the KKR middle order settle. No easy singles were given. Boundaries became a rarity. The required run rate crept up. Meanwhile, Jadeja displayed another fielding brilliance to dismiss Andre Russell.
KKR’s wheels were coming off. They hadn’t scored a boundary for a span of 11 overs.
Bravo added two more to his tally. He has always repaid the faith his captain had in him. On Tuesday the Trinidadian proved why he’s one of the most valuable all-rounders in the tournament.
KKR lost the match by two runs in the end. Inspite of Ryan ten Doeschate’s late heroics, they couldn’t get past the line. Now you know why people like Brendon McCullum save every single run.
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Most people had voted for a cricket match. But if a CSK fan had been asked the same question at the end of the first five overs in the second innings, the answer would have made Scotty happy.
KKR were running away with the game. Yet another one-sided match involving CSK seemed to be looming large.
The twist
Chasing a modest total of 134, Kolkata Knight Riders got to a score of 50 in the first five overs. Having lost skipper Gautam Gambhir early, Robin Uthappa counter-attacked. He and Manish Pandey were toying with CSK’s medium pacers. The duo brought the required run rate down to less than five runs an over.
It looked like Dwayne Bravo wouldn't get a chance to get his dancing shoes on. MS Dhoni wouldn’t get a chance to add yet another stump to his collection. Suresh Raina wouldn’t be able to tug at one of his mates’ hair.
And then the CSK spinners were brought into the attack by their captain Dhoni.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who hasn’t really been among wickets, struck with his very first ball. The first ball wasn’t a wicket-taker. Uthappa slapped it hard. The ball flew to the finest super-fielder in the stadium, aka Mr McCullum, and he made the catch look easy.
Emboldened, Ashwin gave the ball a lot of air. He started attacking the batsmen and making them play. Manish Pandey almost let one thought the bad-pad gap. The gates were about to open.
Jadeja, from the other end, was complementing Ashwin well. More defensive in his approach, he bowled flat and contained the run flow. As the choke was put on, Manish Pandey didn’t take long to perish. Ashwin struck again with the first ball of his second over.
The spin twin’s first spell, coupled with some brilliant efforts on the field, gave Super Kings a glimmer of hope.
The super-fielders
Say most of your batsmen have failed to score big even after getting a good start from the opening batsmen. With the help of the tail, your team has huffed and puffed to score 130-odd runs in the first innings. But you still want to want to put pressure on the opposition.
If you want to make a target of 135 look like 180-plus, call in the bunch of guys in yellow, the super-fielders of Chennai Super Kings. They dive, they fly, and they do the impossible to save runs.
On Tuesday, Dhoni was lucky to have a set of fielders who were ready to throw themselves on the turf and at the ball for the team’s cause. Super Baz lead the pack, setting the tone for the other boys in the squad. He dived at point to save four runs. He ran his heart out and threw himself at the boundary ropes to save a run. He may well have saved more than he might have scored.
And then came the catch that will probably prove to be the best of this season.
It was Mohit Sharma’s second over. Surya Kumar Yadav, beaten by pace, top-edged a bouncer.
Two men came running to take the catch.
How often have we seen such a situation? Most times, the two men collide and the ball hits the ground.
But this time it was two men in yellow. One gave up, anticipating that he would not be able to get there. The other, freed of distractions, dived forward – the hardest kind – and took a one-handed blinder.
A five-over partnership that could add only 15 runs came to an end.
The end in sight
Yusuf Pathan hung in there and tried to steer the innings. But he never got going and in the end got out to a slower one from Bravo.
The CSK fielders didn’t let the KKR middle order settle. No easy singles were given. Boundaries became a rarity. The required run rate crept up. Meanwhile, Jadeja displayed another fielding brilliance to dismiss Andre Russell.
KKR’s wheels were coming off. They hadn’t scored a boundary for a span of 11 overs.
Bravo added two more to his tally. He has always repaid the faith his captain had in him. On Tuesday the Trinidadian proved why he’s one of the most valuable all-rounders in the tournament.
KKR lost the match by two runs in the end. Inspite of Ryan ten Doeschate’s late heroics, they couldn’t get past the line. Now you know why people like Brendon McCullum save every single run.