Where Chennai won the game

Gaikwad is not just going through bad form, he is hurting CSK

Riyan Parag already showing signs of becoming a potential three-dimensional T20 superstar

Riyan Parag took three nonchalant catches today and that understandably caught the attention of the broadcasters. Be it with his celebration or through his catching, Parag loves to showboat. But don’t let these theatrics hinder you from noticing his actual cricketing talent, for the youngster, this season, has shown that  he could turn into an absolute T20 superstar. First he blasted a 11-ball 25 versus Punjab in the first game and smashed all misconceptions about him being a ‘slow starter’. Mind you, only prior to the season he’d said in an interview to ESPNCricinfo that he hated being branded a slow-starter. Then Parag, who’d bowled handy leg-spin in the 2019 edition, displayed new skills with the ball, not just unleashing carrom ball-ish off-spin but also a slingy, Jadhav-esque side-armer, which has already caught many a batsman off guard. His fielding, as we saw with his direct hit off Pant in the previous game and his effortless catching today, is already world class. Here’s a young man, who at 19 years of age, is already reinventing himself and evolving with every passing season to keep up with the pace of the game. Parag might, at this point in time, be a very raw talent, but he is on the right path to becoming a three-dimensional T20 superstar.

After questionably deploying Shivam Dube at #5 in each of the first two games, Rajasthan Royals went a step further and pushed the all-rounder to #4 today. Well, much to the dismay of the side, the result was no different. Dube once again failed to repay the trust and perished after scoring just 17 off the 20 balls he faced. But this was always coming. For Dube has never, ever been a middle-order batsman. His best knocks in the IPL - which can be counted with one hand - have come either as a finisher or a pinch hitter, and the Royals have simply over-estimated the Mumbaikar’s ability with the bat by deploying him as a specialist middle-order bat. Today, once again, barring a couple of strokes, he showed inability to rotate strike and looked at sea versus both quality pace and spin. That’s three auditions - on great batting wickets - failed. RR are shooting themselves on the foot by batting Dube at a position he’s not comfortable at, when there are better candidates waiting on the bench. 

Hot take zone

At 125-5 after 14 overs, CSK were looking at 200, potentially 210, but then MS Dhoni happened. 0 0 0 0 0 1 was what his first six balls read after he walked into bat in the 15th over. The CSK skipper deliberately dead-batted the innocuous leg-spin of Rahul Tewatia and killed the team’s hopes of getting close to the 200-run mark. Last week we said that Dhoni the batsman could prove to be a headache for CSK, but now it’s evident: he is the weakest link in the line-up. The Dhoni of 2020 looked bad, but the Dhoni of 2021 looks like he should be nowhere near an IPL franchise. If CSK are to have any chance of winning the title this season, they should hope and pray that Dhoni plays fewer balls than any other batsman in the side, for he is the only factor holding this batting unit back. 

Player Ratings

The MVP

Without an ounce of doubt, Sam Curran. 13(6) with the bat and a quite ridiculous new ball spell, which read 3-0-12-2. On a wicket where 220 looked par, Curran’s spell was goldust, not least because he also sent back the team’s best batsman, Sanju Samson, back to the pavilion.

CSK’s innings was filled with cameos but the contest turned one sided far too soon. Rajasthan showed no fight once Buttler was dismissed, and the last 7 overs became a mere formality. A very ordinary game on what was a brilliant T20 cricket.