April 5, 2010. The third season of the IPL. Lalit Modi still commissioner of the league. Both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians had yet to win the title. That was the last time Chennai beat Mumbai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. A fortress against other side, Mumbai had won six straight there, including one in the now-defunct Champions League. But this emphatic six-wicket win, which took Chennai up to second in the table, and put a big dent in Mumbai’s play-off hopes, not only ended that losing streak, but it also completed the double for the season over their great rivals. Here, we look at some takeaways from the match.
A fit Chahar is a key weapon for Dhoni
Before the Saturday afternoon game against Mumbai, Deepak Chahar’s injury-hit IPL had seen him bowl 13 wicket-less overs at an economy rate of 10.38. He was almost unrecognisable from the bowl who took 58 wickets for Chennai between 2018 and 2021, a period in which they won the title twice. Chahar’s subtle variations and control made him one of the league’s most dangerous new-ball bowlers and the wickets he took upfront were a big part of MS Dhoni’s game plan. Having missed the entire 2022 season through injury, this was a glimose of the old Chahar. Ishan Kishan fell to a miscue, while the wicket of Rohit Sharma was a triumph for Chahar and Dhoni. Dhoni moved up to the stumps, and Chahar pitched one just short of a length. The extra bounce appeared to surprise Rohit, whose attempted scoop lobbed up via glove and helmet to short third man. With Mumbai 14-3, Chennai had complete control, and Dhoni then rotated his bowling recources with customary astuteness to ensure that it was never relinquished.
SKY’s Kryptonite
Suryakumar Yadav has a strike-rate of better than 160 against pace bowlers in the IPL. It drops slightly to 145 against wrist-spinners, and 138 against off-spin. Those are mighty impressive numbers, and illustrate just why he’s so feared by the opposition. But if there’s one thing SKY doesn’t enjoy, it’s left-arm orthodox spin. When he was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja, it was his 13th dismissal against that type of bowling. And the usually scary strike-rate plummets to 109. It’s just as well that there are so few quality left-arm finger spinners in the IPL’s starting XIs.
Mumbai get a taste of their own round-arm medicine
During the years when they became the league’s most successful franchise, Mumbai bullied teams with Lasith Malinga’s pace and slingshot action. At Chepauk, they were undone by Matheesha Pathirana, another Sri Lankan whose action is even more round-arm that Malinga’s was. But like the man who was once the league’s leading wicket-taker, Pathirana is relentlessly accurate and possessed of a calm temperament. He invariably bowls the toughest overs, when the batters go for broke at the end of the innings. But Mumbai could barely put bat on ball. He bowled 12 dot balls, and didn’t concede a single boundary in a spell of 3 for 15. For someone who bowls when he does, an economy rate for the season of 7.61 is nothing short of outstanding.
Chawla a cut above the rest
Piyush Chawla took 17 wickets with his leg-spin in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. He had never taken as many since. In 2022, he didn’t even get a contract, and was part of the TV commentary team. But in a Mumbai team where bowling has been a concern right through the season, Chawla has been a standout performer. This was the fifth straight game in which he took two wickets, and he now has 17 from just 10 matches. That the economy rate is a superb 7.17, in a team where almost every other bowler has gone for 10 an over or more, is all the more praiseworthy. The wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad, miscuing a pull, and Ajinkya Rahane, comprehensively beaten by the googly, may have had no impact on the result, but they were a further reminder of his mastery of cricket’s most difficult craft.
Gaikwad lifts the pressure
The IPL’s most storied rivalry has seen Chennai fall short in several low-scoring games. With 140 needed here, Ruturaj Gaikwad ensured there would be no chewed fingernails by smacking Cameron Green for two fours in the first over, and then carting Arshad Khan for two fours and two sixes when he was brought on to replace Green. Chennai scored 46 in the first four, and though Gaikwad then fell for a 16-ball 30, the remaining batters could afford to knock the ball around because of the start he provided.
Dhoni, and the Chepauk Communion
Devon Conway top-scored for Chennai with a 42-ball 44. Yet, when he was dismissed, after Mumbai and Akash Madhwal successfully overturned a not-out decision for LBW, the mood inside the stadium turned from relatively subdued to carnival. And then there was the roar as Dhoni walked out to take strike. There have been some sporting venues where the bond between player and performer could best be described as communion. Michael Jordan at the United Center in Chicago and Diego Maradona at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples were two examples. To that, you can add Dhoni and the Whistle Podu brigade at Chepauk. That he then hit the winning run was the icing on their cake.
Also Read: Josh Little leaves IPL for national duty; will miss GT’s next few games