Like MS Dhoni's many decisions in the past, the toss proved to be crucial in the beginning, as after being put to bat first, Melbourne Stars were strangled by some precise bowling by CSK bowlers. It came to a point that scoring runs were genuinely more difficult than being dismissed. Only Marcus Stonis, who had a great BBL last time around, stayed firm to make some contribution. So much so that his 61 turned out to be the only 15-plus score for any Stars batsman, as the team posted a mediocre total of 141 runs for the Chennai-based franchise to chase down.

If there ever was a cakewalk, this was it. Even though Shane Watson was run out in the first over itself, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, and towards the end, Ambati Rayudu made Stars bowlers look like a bunch of kids on their way to an eight-wicket victory. Raina went for the kill from the outset to set up the base, with usually reticent Faf du Plessis making sure the game was not pushed to the last over. Ambati Rayudu added the final plaster to that structure with a 14-ball 28 as Chennai kicked off their Champions League SRL campaign in style.

Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis’ dismissal within the space of 15 deliveries was crucial from Melbourne Stars’ point of view. Stoinis was the only form batsman today and desperately needed a partner who could open his arms. However, Maxwell’s dismissal followed by his own ended the hope straightaway. Stars didn’t have any chances from that point on.

One look on the scorecard can tell you how disastrous a batting performance it was by Melbourne Stars, especially after the fluent run-chase by the Indian side. But the way they floundered in the 16th and 17th over had to be the ultimate low in the game. The Stars lost both Hilton Cart-wright and Nathan Coulter-Nile before Steyn became the next man to be dismissed. The batting-bowling contest is fine but this phase ensured the game became more one-sided than one-sided.

In the 2019-20 Big Bash League, Marcus Stoinis was the ultimate superstar in leading the side to the finals but he was supported by some fine contributions from Ben Dunk and Glenn Maxwell. However, in front of a lethal Chennai bowling attack, the Western Australian was forced to play a more cautious role in the beginning. Dunk was comparatively slower as well, leaving Melbourne Stars to play catch-up in the entirety of the game. 49 runs were all they could manage in this phase and the credit of that must go to Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur’s precise bowling. 

After Dunk’s dismissal in the 8th over, when the Stars had only 55 runs on board, Stoinis had no other way than upping the ante further. But with runs hard to come by, which was further intensified with the dismissal of Nick Larkin and Glenn Maxwell. So much so that not a single over saw the Stars scoring anything beyond 9 runs for the entire nine-over period and the team reached 118/5 at the end of 15th over.  

Direct me to better death bowling performances across tournaments in the SRL, I’ll wait. 23 runs that all Melbourne Stars could manage in the last five overs, as CSK put up a tag-team effort. Bravo conceded 2 runs in an overs for one wicket, Tahir picked two wickets in an over while Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar combined to spend 15 runs in three overs. It was a wholesome performance that cast a spell on the Big Bash side.

As you would have understood by now, this was one dull encounter from every conceivable angle. Especially if it the start of a tournament, better things are expected as we go along.