Match Review

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In general, CSK have the uncanny knack of making miraculous recoveries - either after losing quick wickets or after dishing out a hideous performance with the ball - but their spine was broken in just the third over by Ishant Sharma, after which they never recovered. The lanky pacer dismissed Rayudu and Raina in back-to-back deliveries, after which Chennai Super Kings turned into an inferior version of Chepauk Super Gillies. 

Highs and Lows

2 9 8 0 9 - You might think that this is the number for the Covid-19 helpline in your city, but it’s not; this is what the Top 5 batsmen of the Super Kings managed today. That’s right, a top five comprising Watson, du Plessis, Raina, Rayudu and Dhoni scored a total of 28 runs. This is not just the low-point of this particular match, but the lowest point in SRL history for the Super Kings. 

Rating Charts

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - there is simply just no excuse for any team to be losing more than three wickets inside the powerplay in a T20 contest; even if they’re facing Jimmy Anderson in overcast conditions on a green top. Clearly, only one team walked onto the field with an intent to play - let alone win - and it was not CSK. The number “32 for 4 off 6 overs” should tell you everything you need to know about their disgraceful display up top. 

It could have been easy for Delhi to just milk the bowling around and stroll to victory with an over or two to spare but no, they came hunting for blood in the chase and they made sure that they let the CSK bowlers know the same. 53 was what they managed in the first six and the ball was flying off the bat of both Shaw and Dhawan to all parts of the ground. The 12-run sixth over bowled by Deepak Chahar was the icing on the cake. 

There is no team more than CSK you’d bank on to do a decent job in the middle overs, for they’re built like a proper Test unit, and all three of Kedar Jadhav, Jadeja and Bravo brought their red-ball skills to the fore to ensure that they drove their side did not slump to an RCB-esque total. Dots, singles and twos were the order of the day in a boring middle-over phase in which the Men in Yellow scored 48 runs for the loss of three wickets. *yawns*.

Delhi’s middle-overs were the polar opposite to that of Chennai, and the Iyer-led side really put the foot on the pedal to hurry their way towards a dominant win. Prithvi Shaw, after doing the damage in the first six overs, stepped aside and let Dhawan take charge of the chase, and take charge he did. In an astonishing phase between overs 8 to 12, Dhawan struck FOUR SIXES AND TWO FOURS to annihilate the CSK bowlers and take his team over the line. Shaw fell right at the end, but it just did not matter as DC won the game in just the 13th over, with 39 BALLS TO SPARE!  Not just a defeat for CSK, but a humiliation!

Teams getting complacent and leaking runs towards the end has been a pretty common occurrence in this SRL so far and today, once again, Delhi were guilty of doing the same. With the score 81/8, the likes of Rabada and Ishant had a golden opportunity to wrap up the CSK innings under 100, but some loose bowling meant that Thakur and Bravo managed to muscle the Men in Yellow to a score of 118. The last 5 overs yielded 34 runs for the loss of no wickets and the low point at the death was the 18th over from Rabada, which went for 14 runs. The kind of performance that would definitely leave Ponting fuming. 

CSK lost the game 15 balls even before the death overs beckoned, so yeah. An early night for every single one of us. 

If it wasn’t for the late blitz from Dhawan, I would have given this match the lowest rating possible. I definitely would not even catch up with the highlights of this game, even if they paid me to watch it.