A typical Chennai Super Kings innings involves a lot of beating around the bush and then taking the backdoor entry to a point that would leave the opposition worried. While the top order failed to sustain the pressure exerted by the Zalmi bowlers, especially by Lewis Gregory, Faf du Plessis tried to keep the momentum within the mark. Albeit everything seemed lost at one moment, Kedar Jadhav turned his 2018 IPL opener avatar to score a 26-ball 43 blitzkrieg while Ravindra Jadeja’s 17 runs ensured a respectable end to their innings, with the Zalmi getting a target of 159 runs.

Chasing 159 is a tough task, especially if it happens to be against a team ably led by MS Dhoni behind the sticks. The Pakistan Super League side learnt it the hard way on their debut game of the Champions League SRL, as they were reduced to 26/5 inside the first six overs alone. From that point on, it was just a formality that needed to be wrapped up and no one really wasted time there. The Zalmi batsmen acted clueless even in front of the part-time spin of Kedar Jadhav as Deepak Chahar turned the table to guide the three-time IPL champions to an 81-run win.

Looking at the eventual margin of the result, one might conclude that Zalmi lost the game in the powerplay but Wahab Riaz’s last over bowling was a bigger turning point. CSK were on 140 at the end of 19th over, and another parsimonious over might have had a bigger impact on their batsmen in the run-chase, but it wasn’t to be. That is not an excuse for the way they batted but it was definitely the starting phase of Zalmi losing grip in the game.

The low came on the predictable lines, when Peshawar Zalmi, comprising star T20 players like Tom Banton, Imam Ul-Haq and Liam Livingstone were five down for 26 inside the powerplay. There was a lot riding on the trio but alas, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur put up a spectacle to down the PSL side to shambles. Any takers for this? I bet Not.

30 runs off two overs, 20 runs from the other four. This was Chennai Super Kings’ powerplay where they had the shades of both Mumbai Indians and well, their own reticent avatar. With a stack of bowling options, Peshwar Zalmi bowled well upfront but a couple of expensive overs from Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz wrested the momentum in CSK’s favour even after dismissing Shane Watson in the first over itself. Suresh Raina, who was unusually calm today, put further pressure on Faf du Plessis, something that gave them no more than 4.5 ratings. 

For the kind of slow starters they are known to be, middle-overs always come to CSK’s rescue but this time, Somerset pacer Lewis Gregory had some other plans. The all-rounder, who made his debut for England last year, starred today with the wickets of last match heroes - Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu. Their dismissals brought a stall to the Indian side’s plans, with MS Dhoni further adding to their batting woes. Only 59 runs were scored in the process, leaving them looking at a potential disaster later in the game.

Sometimes it only takes an over to squander every good work done and Wahab Riaz must be crushing himself in anger for giving away as many as 18 runs in the last over of the CSK innings. If that over is taken off, the Zalmi only conceded 31 runs in the last four overs, which was a strong effort. However, cricket is hardly played like that and Peshawar Zalmi should be left disappointed. 

Thankfully it ended in the 15th Over. When a PSL and an IPL side lock horns, it automatically becomes the major event, irrespective of where it is played. However, the historic day ended up being a complete anomaly of a T20. From a neutral standpoint, I would detest it for long.