Match Review

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Having already inflicted pain on both Delhi and Bangalore in this SRL, both Luke Wright and Laurie Evans looked like they had fixed CSK as their third victim, but Evans’ dismissal in the fifth over turned the script upside down. After the dismissal of the right-hander - who was batting on 25 - Sussex lost both Wright and Rawlins in the next two overs and from there, there was no coming back for the English side.

Highs and Lows

David Wiese’s abject display with the ball was undoubtedly the nethermost point of the game. With Rashid and Briggs having conceded a total of just 10 runs in the preceding two overs, all Wiese had to do was maintain his discipline. (Spoiler alert - he didn’t). Instead, he ended up conceding 18 runs off his only over, walking CSK towards the 200-plus total that they desired.

Rating Charts

Well, Watson and du Plessis have set the bar so high that even a 56/0 powerplay display does not warrant them a 10/10 rating. Yet again, it was a brutal display of batting where both du Plessis and Watson exactly knew what they wanted to do and for a moment, it felt like I was watching the Australian’s highlight package from yesterday. Watson’s onslaught of Mills in the fourth over - where he scored 15 runs - was some sight and if there ever was any debate on who the better ‘ex-RCB’ian’ is, I guess it’s now settled.

Chaos is the word I can think of, to describe Sussex’s powerplay. It was chaotic from the very first over, for after losing Salt off the very first ball, Evans came in and whacked consecutive boundaries, before Wright also joined in on the assault. But that did not sustain for long as in the last two overs of the powerplay, they ended up losing both Wright and Evans. 46/3 against CSK in the powerplay chasing 202? Oh you’re asking for trouble.

Now, for all you budding cricketers out there, THIS - what CSK did today - is how you approach the middle-overs after getting off to a flyer. No half-measures, no caution, just allowing your set batsman to go berserk while ensuring that the others around him don’t hog the strike too much or eat up deliveries. Yes, Watson was the showstopper today, with his 47-ball 72, but the role of someone like an Ambati Rayudu, who scored 15 off 8, was equally important to ensure that CSK never took the foot off the pedal. 90/3 is what they managed in the ‘boring’ middle phase. 

When you lose three wickets inside the first six overs against a team like CSK, chasing over 200, you basically stand no chance and Sussex learnt their lesson the harsh way today. The trio of Jadeja, Tahir and Bravo carved through the Sussex batsmen in the middle-overs today and they ended up with a combined economy rate of 6.7. Just to put things into perspective, Sussex’s required rate when the middle-overs started was 11.14. 

I know I have made a lot of MS Dhoni jokes of late - including one yesterday - but seriously, is there anything better than watching the man tee off at the death? Mind you, he was not playing against kids. This was Mills, Archer, Jordan and Rashid - four of the finest T20 bowlers in the world - he was treating like a punching bag. His 22-ball 44, which included four fours and two sixes, propelled CSK over the coveted 200-run mark. This section was supposed to be about the Sussex bowlers, but well Dhoni has hogged the limelight yet again. How selfish of him!

I usually don’t give ratings to death overs that have lasted less than 18 balls, but today is an exception - Imran Tahir’s double-wicket maiden in the 16th over alone deserves a 10/10 rating. That aside, nothing much to talk about, here. 3/3 was what Sussex managed in the 13 balls they managed to bat at the death.

One sided matches generally tend to be really boring, but weirdly enough, this one was actually good. The fact that Sussex were in overdrive mode whilst chasing - and not just looking to bat out their overs after knowing they had no chance of winning - perhaps helped. And oh, of course, Tahir’s double-wicket maiden was the icing on the cake. A pretty satisfying contest, I should say.