By Bharath Ramaraj
Ajinkya Rahane and the spinners were the architects of Chennai Super Kings’ convincing seven-wicket victory against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Here is a list of major takeaways from the game.
Rahane and sublime shots
Ajinkya Rahane wielding the willow like an artist is a visual delight. In good conditions for batting, the veteran gave a wonderful exhibition of stroke-play. In the second over bowled by Arshad Khan, he cracked an eye-catching cut, drive and punch to put the pressure right back on the young bowler. He also nonchalantly flicked Cameron Green for a six and pulled Piyush Chawla to the boundary hoardings. By the time he fell for a sparkling 27-ball 61, Chennai were in pole position. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu also played useful hands.
Harsh lessons for a youngster
If Rahane would be pleased with his performance, then Arshad would have a few nightmares about how he was smashed to all corners of the ground. The young bowler can swing the ball both ways but on the big stage, he perhaps pressed the panic button. It could be observed that when Rahane went after Arshad, the left-arm bowler shifted his line to outside off. And Rahane cashed in on the width that was offered to him. Hopefully, the harsh lessons would help Arshad to get better.
Decision Review System or ‘Dhoni Review System’?
In the eighth over, Mitchell Santner bowled one down the leg-side, and the umpire signalled a wide. It was just that MS Dhoni had heard a faint deflection and decided to review the call. The UltraEdge picked up a spike and Suryakumar Yadav had to walk back to the pavilion. On expected lines, ‘Decision Review System’ started to trend on Twitter.
The spin duo weave a web
Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner varied their pace and lengths and shared five wickets for the cost of just 48 runs. To illustrate the point further, in the 13th over, Jadeja tossed one up after Tilak Varma had cracked a six off a quicker delivery, and he was duly rewarded with a wicket. He also showcased excellent reflexes to pouch a return catch that sent Cameron Green back to the hut.