Don’t End as You Begin
In his first five seasons in the IPL, Sandeep Sharma took 71 wickets for Kings XI Punjab, as the team was known then. Over the next five years, he took just 43. Batsmen seldom punished him, but the skiddish waspishness that first caught the eye wasn’t always there. Maybe as his dreams of becoming an India regular faded, the motivation levels dropped a touch. What he does still have, though, is vast experience in this competition. It’s easy to be overawed by the sight of MS Dhoni wielding his bat as you run in to bowl, especially with the Chepauk crowd going bonkers in the background. And Sandeep certainly seemed caught in the maelstrom early on, with a sequence of wide-wide-dot-six-six to start the over. Most bowlers would back themselves to defend 20 in the final over, but suddenly the equation had narrowed to seven from three. In normal circumstances, and perhaps in another era, you’d have backed Dhoni every single time. But Sandeep changed his angle of attack, going round the wicket, and, after Dhoni miscued the fourth legal delivery for a single, nailed two superb yorkers to kill the chase. He may not have the pace of an Anrich Nortje, but the yorkers he landed under intense pressure were every bit as special.
No Buttler Service
Had Rajasthan Royals lost this match, questions would certainly have been asked of how they approached their batting innings. Jos Buttler scored four centuries last season, as Rajasthan reached the final. So far this season, his strike-rate is a tremendous 170. Yet, in the first 15 overs of the innings – that’s 90 legal deliveries – Buttler faced just 32 balls. It’s common sense that you give your biggest weapon as much of the strike as possible. Rajasthan did just the opposite.
Jadeja is a threat once again
Ravindra Jadeja’s time with the Chennai Super Kings can be neatly divided into two parts. In the first phase, between 2012 and 2015, he took 55 wickets, conceding less than 8 runs an over. In the five seasons since he was brought back to the Chennai mothership – the team was banned in 2016 and 2017, years that he spent with the Gujarat Lions – there have been just 50 wickets. He enjoyed fine seasons in 2019 and 2021 – when Chennai won a fourth title – but has otherwise mostly been employed as a tourniquet to stop the runs. In 2022, he took just five wickets in the 10 games he played. He seems a very different proposition this year though, especially when Chennai are playing in their fortress. The rhythm and fizz off the pitch seem to be back, and the delivery that completely undid Sanuu Samson was a reminder of just how dangerous he can be at his best.
Ashwin’s Homecoming, and Chahal, Will Test Chennai
Ashwin Proves His Point
In 2010 and 2011, when Chennai Super Kings won their first two IPL titles, Ashwin took 33 wickets while conceding a little over 6 runs an over. He would add 55 more wickets over the next four seasons, before the franchise was banned for two years. When they returned, it was Jadeja that they bought back, and not Ashwin, the local boy. Having been dropped from India’s white-ball sides, the consensus seemed to be that Ashwin was a busted flush in the limited-overs formats. And while it’s true that he doesn’t take too many wickets – just 57 across the last five IPL seasons – his ability to outthink batters is still beyond compare. After conceding 10 in the one over he bowled in the Power Play, Ashwin finished with 2-25. The wicket of Ajinkya Rahane was absolutely crucial, given how well he had been stroking the ball. His skill with the ball also helped gloss over a weird sort of innings with the bat. He may have finished with 30 from 22 balls, but was stuck on 10 off 15 at one stage. Worse still, Buttler faced just 15 balls during Ashwin’s spell at the crease, and his strike-rate plummeted from 200 to 150.
Rajasthan Turbo v Chennai tuk-tuk
You can slice and dice that final over any way you like. The reality, though, is that this match was won and lost in the engine room. Almost without exception, it’s Nos 4, 5 and 6 who provide the late-innings momentum that allows teams to sign off with a flourish. Rajasthan, despite Samson’s duck and Ashwin’s tortoise-like start, managed 60 runs off 42 balls from those positions, thanks to another fine cameo from Shimron Hetmyer. For Chennai, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu faced 21 balls and struck just one four while scoring a mere 16. Dhoni and Jadeja nearly chased down the 54 that Chennai needed from the last three overs, but no team can hope to win close matches with such minimal contributions from their designated finishers.
The Chepauk Roar
When Liverpool played and beat Chelsea in the second leg of a Champions League semifinal at Anfield in 2005, it was estimated that the crowd noise was louder than a Jumbo jet taking off. It would have been fascinating to find out what the decibel levels were when Dhoni walked out to bat on Wednesday night. The Super Kings have always enjoyed fantastic support, but this season, with the team playing in front of a full house at home after so long and with the suspicion that Dhoni might be coming to the end of his epic journey, they have been louder still. When those two sixes were struck in the final over, you really did fear for roof, new construction or not.