In a high scoring game, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) yet again showed what a powerhouse unit they are in this format of the game and the Dolphins bowlers who were simply clueless about stopping Suresh Raina and co. R Vishal looks back at the game’s stand-out moments.
Brendon McCullum’s heroics: It was the very M. Chinnaswamy stadium that bore witness to the breathtaking unbeaten 158 in the first game in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Things have moved on since then and the Dunedin dynamo has written many a glorious chapter in his career. He was back, with a different franchise and many more weapons in his arsenal after that assault in 2008. Those muscular, heavily tattooed arms were clubbing the ball out of the park again before he was gone for 49. McCullum’s best moment of the match was not with the bat though. In what was a jaw-dropping effort in the deep, the New Zealand captain jumped over the rope, caught the ball and threw the ball back on the field — he was mid-air while pulling off this feat. This should go down as one of the stand out moments on the Champions League Twenty 20 (CLT20).
Suresh Raina — T20’s numero uno: Throw Suresh Raina in an Australasian wicket and he might be all at sea with his awkward technique while playing short pitched bowling. However, with world-class batsmen packed in the batting line-up, a partisan crowd , a flat wicket and the yellow jersey of CSK brings out a different demon; a one that has the combined powers of an Adam Gilchrist and his former team-mate Michael Hussey rolled into one. Even deliveries that missed the right length slightly were smashed out of the park.
Chennai’s six-hitting exhibition: While Raina and McCullum’s assault on the bowlers was documented above, the other batsmen making merry shouldn’t be ignored either. Ravindra Jadeja smashed the biggest sixes of the game, moments after coming on and Faf du Plessis played a smart cameo as well to add to the rain of sixes that flew off CSK batsmen’s blade.
Cameron Delport’s extraordinary assault: Dolphins’ burly southpaw might well find himself being a part of one of the IPL sides after the manner in which he went about smashing the bowlers. With skipper Morne van Wyk and later Cody Chetty giving him support, Dolphins were well above the asking rate chasing down a whopping 243. The South African side reached 50 from a mere 15 balls and boundaries simply kept on coming. Bad fortune ended his thoroughly entertaining knock as he was bowled off his pads by Mohit Sharma.
Mohit Sharma — MS Dhoni’s go-to man: Mohit Sharma finished with yet another four wicket haul and he continues to be MS Dhoni’s trump card in this format. Apart from removing Delport, Mohit changed his pace well and got regular scalps. He was well aided by fellow medium-pacer Dwayne Bravo and went for a few runs too. With Mohit’s limitations with pace, he is going to have days where an aggressive hitter takes him apart but he continues to excel for CSK, which proved to be his gateway to International cricket.
(R Vishal is a journalist, beach lover, Chelsea FC fan and a wannabe globetrotter. Being a loyal student of the Tariq Iqbal school of cricket stopped him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a cricketer. Now, he just writes and talks about the game; He can be followed on Twitter @vishhell)
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