News Analysis India

Tag: csk

  • After the blowout in 2020, CSK fell back on a buzzword that’s brought immense success in past

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: “We will come back strong. That’s what we’re known for.” This was MS Dhoni at the end of Chennai Super Kings’ campaign last IPL, where they missed out on a play-off berth for the first time. Their fate was decided mid-way through the tournament when they had won just two of the opening 10 matches. Their batting department, also consisting of players who didn’t play regular cricket, looked out of depth. It also had aging stars. All of them were finding it hard to find form in one of the most competitive short form tournaments. They also had to deal with Covid-19 cases and fitness issues to key players as they used 19 players. The only time they looked settled was when they were already out of the race.

    It was a strange season in many ways. It was one of the most tightly-fought editions — the play-offs berths were decided on the last day of the group stage, with three teams (Nos 3, 4 and 5) finishing on 14 points in the table. It meant Chennai, who finished on 12 points, could have made the cut if they had won one more game. These things tend to go unnoticed when one speaks about their long losing run during the tournament.

    So when Chennai returned home, with no clarity about player auctions, and many unanswered questions, they chose to trust their process. It was a moment where many teams would have pressed the panic button and made wholesale changes. Especially considering most of their regulars were in the November of their careers.

    “The board and the management had total trust in the team and captain. Everyone goes through a bad patch. We are in cricket for 30-40 years and that also makes a difference. We have seen such situations before too,” said Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of Chennai Super Kings. “Last year was the only one where we didn’t do well and by the end of the edition, we started doing well again. We knew it was only a question of time. And this year as usual, we followed the process and are doing well.”

    Process is a cliched term that teams, most notably captains use often. In MS Dhoni’s world, it is a constant. In Stephen Fleming, they have a head coach who relies on — or maybe has brought into — the process that Chennai has relied on in the past. It is something the duo don’t generally expand on and Viswanathan simplifies what happened in the drawing board. “The process is identifying roles for each player and then playing according to the situation, which we practice. For example, ahead of the UAE leg, we came to Dubai by August 13 and after a six-day quarantine, started practice in humid conditions. Our preparation for the tournament started that day itself. So we were prepared for the season. It was only a question of time before they adjusted. Last year was a rare season where we didn’t.”

    With the big auction postponed, making huge changes was out of the question. But they had identified the areas that needed immediate attention. With Shane Watson retiring, they needed another overseas all-rounder who could bat up the order. They picked Moeen Ali. The encouraging performances of Ruturaj Gaikwad and the availability of all their regulars meant Chennai found the balance that went missing. This season they have used only 13 players as they are back to where they belong in the IPL – play-offs.

    “We knew it was just a couple of positions that would make us a balanced side. And then it was just about creating a style of play that was going to suit us and then just absorbing it and playing it. Once we got the players — Ali was one in particular — and had our boys fit and ready to go, it was just creating an environment that was positive and making sure there was no doubt,” Fleming said.

  • Bottom-placed SRH face uphill challenge against table toppers CSK

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Virtually out of the play-off race, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope to keep their new-found momentum intact when they face table toppers Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, here on Thursday.

    Kane Williamson led from the front with an unbeaten half-century to help Hyderabad return to winning ways after five losses on the trot.

    It lifted the morale of the side as they have suffered eight losses from 10 matches.

    The biggest decision for Williamson-led think tank has been to drop their big hitting opener David Warner, who aggregated just 181 runs at an average of 24.37.

    This was twice this season that their only IPL-winning (2016) skipper was axed this season after losing captaincy to the New Zealander.

    With speculation rife about the Aussie’s future at his favourite franchise Hyderabad, the onus would be on the Kiwi skipper to revive the fortunes of the Orange Army.

    English opener Jason Roy seized the opportunity on his debut to set it up with a quick 60 before Williamson sealed the challenging chase of 165 with nine balls to spare.

    The trio of Siddarth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jason Holder also shone at the death without conceding a boundary in the last 17 balls and also dismissed the dangerman Sanju Samson in the final over to contribute to their first win in five months.

    Even as the odds are high against them, the Williamson-led will look to win all their remaining four matches and also pray that the other results go in their favour.

    For a side that relies heavily on their overseas recruits, the onus will be on the likes of Wriddhiman Saha and Priyam Garg to step up.

    “We can say the performance was improved. There was clarity in roles to, want to build on this, want to see the younger players take their opportunity and enjoy the cricket,” Williamson had said after their seven-wicket win.

    On the match against table toppers CSK, Williamson said, “It’s a new venue, and CSK, top of the table, tough to beat. But as we know every team in this tournament is good. Hopefully we can play with a smile on our faces.”

    The MS Dhoni-led side on the other hand are coming on the back of a hat-trick of wins and have virtually sealed their Play-off chances.

    It was Ravindra Jadeja who once again proved to be their game-changer on Sunday as his eight-ball 22 runs cameo pulled off last ball two-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

    The duo of South African great Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad have shown great chemistry up front while the likes of Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu form the core of their batting.

    Young Indian opener Gaikwad especially has been in the form of his life with scores of 40, 38 and 88 not out as he has given the side strong starts in the power-play.

    The bowling department may look to be their weak link as it remains to be seen if Hyderabad is able to capitalise on it.

    West Indian star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was rested against Kolkata as it would be no surprise if he returns to the side in place of Sam Curran who leaked 56 runs from his four overs against KKR.

    Teams (from):

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (C), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Urman Malik, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy

    Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth

    Match Starts: 7.30 pm IST.

  • MS Dhoni’s CSK humble Virat Kohli’s RCB with all-round show, claim top spot

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical all-round show to humble Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and claim the top spot in the IPL pecking order here on Friday.

    RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53) and young Devdutt Padikkal (70) struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run stand but CSK pulled the strings to restrict them to 156 for six after electing to bowl.

    The in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad came good again with a quick 38 while Faf du Plessis made 31 at the top to lay a strong foundation for CSK to chase the modest target in 18.1 overs.

    The win took CSK to the top spot with 14 points.

    They overtook Delhi Capitals, who also have 14 points, but the yellow brigade has better net run-rate of 1.185, compared to 0.613 of the Delhi team.

    While it was the second consecutive win for CSK, the RCB now have lost both the games post the league’s resumption.

    Gaikwad and Du Plessis added 71 runs in 8.2 overs and later Moeen Ali (23) and Ambati Rayudu (32) also got starts but could not convert those into big knocks.

    Suresh Raina (17) and skipper MS Dhoni (11) ensured that there was no twist in the tale, taking the side past the finish line.

    Neither Mohammed Siraj nor Navdeep Saini could trouble the CSK openers.

    Whether the ball was pitched up, short or bowled at good length, Gaikwad and his Protea partner treated them with equal disdain.

    Gaikwad punched the ball hard and even reverse swept with ease before Kohli pulled off a stunning low catch off wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

    Realising that spinners may turn the game around, Kohli handed the ball to off-spinner Glenn Maxwell and the Australian responded with the wicket of du Plessis, who was guilty of playing a loose shot.

    However, Rayudu and Moeen did not show any respect to the slow bowlers.

    They worked the ball around to keep the scoreboard moving and also got the big shots.

    Earlier, Kohli and Padikkal went hammer and tongs after being asked to take first strike but once the partnership was broken by Dwayne Bravo, RCB lost the momentum.

    RCB managed only 45 runs in the remaining 6.4 overs after being in a position from where they could have pushed for a score in the vicinity of 200.

    Bravo’s bowling made a huge difference to the conclusion of the RCB innings as he conceded only 24 runs in his four overs and also added the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3).

    CSK had no dearth of quality bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood opening the attack but Bangalore openers — Kohli and Padikkal — went about striking the ball cleanly.

    Kohli began with consecutive boundaries off Chahar but took a bit of time to find his rhythm.

    The skipper lofted the same bowler for a massive six on the on-side while Padikkal was fluent with his well-timed shots on the off-side.

    Dhoni shuffled his bowlers but none got the length that could either trouble the batsmen or stop the run flow.

    The young left-hander also used his feet well against left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, sending the ball soaring over long-on.

    He completed his fifty with a crushing four off Chahar which also raised the team’s hundred.

    The breakthrough eventually came when Bravo sent back Kohli, who struck the ball clean and hard but was caught near the boundary ropes.

    That wicket stemmed the run flow and while trying to break the shackles, both AB De Villiers (12) and Padikkal became victims of Shardul Thakur.

    Maxwell was expected to go after the bowlers and he did that, striking a six off Bravo to raise the team’s 150 in the 18th over, but a late flourish eluded RCB.

  • Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal strike fiery half-centuries but CSK restrict RCB to 156/6

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Skipper Virat Kohli and young Devdutt Padikkal struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run stand before Chennai Super King pulled the strings to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 156 for six in an IPL game here on Friday.

    Kohli (53) and Padikkal (70) were going hammer and tongs after being asked to take first strike but once the partnership was broken by Dwayne Bravo, the RCB lost momentum and allowed CSK to wrest control.

    RCB managed only 45 runs in the remaining 6.4 overs after being in a position from where they could have pushed for a score in the vicinity of 200.

    Bravo’s bowling made a huge difference to the conclusion of the RCB innings as he conceded only 24 runs in his four overs and also added the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3).

    CSK had no dearth of quality bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood opening the attack but Bangalore openers — Kohli and Padikkal — went about striking the ball cleanly.

    Kohli began with consecutive boundaries off Chahar but took a bit of time to find his rhythm.

    The skipper lofted the same bowler for a massive six on the on-side while Padikkal was fluent with his well-timed shots on the off-side.

    MS Dhoni shuffled his bowlers but none got the length that could either trouble the batsmen or stop the run flow.

    The young left-hander also used his feet well against left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, sending the ball soaring over long-on.

    He completed his fifty with a crushing four off Chahar which also raised the team’s hundred.

    The breakthrough eventually came when Bravo sent back Kohli, who struck the ball clean and hard but was caught near the boundary ropes.

    That wicket stemmed the run flow and while trying to break the shackles, both AB De Villiers (12) and Padikkal became victims of Shardul Thakur.

    Maxwell was expected to go after the bowlers and he did that, striking a six off Bravo to raise the team’s 150 in the 18th over, but a late flourish eluded RCB.

  • Singapore batsman Tim David makes IPL debut as RCB bat first against unchanged CSK

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Hard-hitting T20 freelancer Tim David has become the first player from Singapore national team to make an Indian Premier League debut as Royal Challengers Bangalore were invited to bat by Chennai Super Kings here on Friday.

    David replaced pacer Kyle Jamieson and RCB also brought in Indian pacer Navdeep Saini in place of batsman Sachin Baby.

    CSK fielded an unchanged side.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Debdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindur Hasaranga, Navdeep Saini, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

    Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

  • Rayudu’s X-ray shows no fracture, should be available for RCB game: CSK CEO

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Despite Chennai Super Kings pulling off a 20-run win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, there were two injury concerns that faced the team on Sunday night. While Ambati Rayudu was hit on the arm by an Adam Milne delivery, Deepak Chahar was seen struggling while bowling his last over at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. But both are looking good to play the next game.

    Speaking to ANI, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said Rayudu’s X-ray reports show no fracture and that is a good sign as CSK play their next game only on Friday against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

    “His X-ray report showed no fracture and considering we have a few days before we play the next game against RCB, he should be available for selection,” he said.

    Asked about Chahar, the CEO pointed it was just cramps. “Just cramps, nothing more to it,” he said.

    Coming to the blockbuster clash, CSK was in a spot of bother after opting to bat against MI before Ruturaj Gaikwad played a match-winning knock. Gaikwad hit an unbeaten 88 as the MS Dhoni-led outfit posted 156/6 in the allotted twenty overs after being 24/4 inside the powerplay.

    “This is my fifth Man of the Match Award in 13 games. Obviously, the situation was tough, we had lost our top-order. It was about taking responsibility and finding a way to reach 120-130. I spent some time in the middle and I reassessed the target,” Gaikwad told Deepak Chahar in a video posted on iplt20.com.

    Defending the total, CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravo scalped three wickets and Deepak Chahar took two as Chennai won the game. Bravo said any match against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) feels like a final.

    “It’s a good feeling, obviously against MI it’s the toughest team in IPL and it’s like a final playing against them, always a good feeling to win. Just tried to protect myself in the last stages of CPL and when I came over here, just had one bowling session which was yesterday, and happy to get 4 overs through today. Now I bat lower down the order with the batting line-up like CSK, for me, it’s just about trying to get the momentum and try to capitalize, adjust and adapt,” Bravo told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match ended. 

  • Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dwayne Bravo got us more than what we expected: CSK skipper MS Dhoni

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dwayne Bravo “got us more than what we expected” after his team was reeling at 24 for four at one stage of its IPL match against Mumbai Indians here on Sunday.

    Gaikwad stroked his way to an unbeaten 88 while veteran Bravo, batting at number eight, smashed 23 off just 8 balls as CSK made 156 for six after opting to bat first.

    The total proved to be more than enough as CSK beat MI by 20 runs.

    “At 30 for 4, you want to put up a respectable score, I felt Rutu and Bravo got us more than what we expected. We thought of 140, to get close to 160 was tremendous,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

    “Rayudu got injured, so it was tough to come back from there but we batted sensibly and finished superbly. It was sensible for one batter to bat right through to the end.”

    Talking about the wicket, Dhoni said, “The wicket was two-paced, slightly slow to start off. Also it’s difficult if you’re batting lower down, if you don’t get a chance to see what is happening, you want to go hard.”

    Dhoni also said that Ambati Rayudu, who retired hurt after getting hit while batting, should be fine by the next match.

    Gaikwad was declared the Player of the Match and he said it was one of his better knocks.

    “Obviously one of my top innings until now, given the pressure we were in. I had to grind it out, bat till 10-12 overs, give myself time and push for 120-130, and then slowly 140-150 was possible. It was a matter of spending time in the middle,” he said.

    “Mahi bhai, everyone in the CSK management, once they back you, they don’t make you think anything but positive things. The Sri Lanka tour and preparation coming here helped a lot.”

    MI’s stand-in captain Kieron Pollard was also all praise for Gaikwad.

    “Ruturaj batted really well. In T20 cricket, if one person bats through he can hurt you. We didn’t finish off well with the ball. Losing by 20 runs you know those were the extra runs we conceded,” he said.

    He did not find any fault with the pitch but blamed poor batting for the defeat.

    “The surface was good, new ball had movement, our seamers got early wickets. Their batters tried to continue the momentum throughout, we didn’t do that.”

    “Even though they got 150-plus, as a batting team we could have gotten that. Losing three wickets was a cardinal sin for us. Given the circumstances, Saurabh (Tiwary, 50 not out) batted really well,” he said.

  • Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 88 lifts Chennai Super Kings to 156/6 against Mumbai Indians

    By PTI

    DUBAI: The supremely-talented Ruturaj Gaikwad batted through the innings for an unbeaten 58-ball 88 to lift Chennai Super Kings from 7/3 to 156 for six against Mumbai Indians as the IPL-14 resumed here on Sunday.

    The late spark was provided by Dwayne Bravo (23 off 8 balls) as CSK recovered from a disastrous start to put up a fighting total.

    The 24-year-old Gaikwad added 81 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to steady the ship after they lost skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the sixth over and the score was 24 for 4.

    Gaikwad smashed nine fours and three sixes, while Bravo hit three maximums.

    CSK lost four wickets in the power play, including the wickets of skipper Dhoni and the team’s seasoned run-getter Suresh Raina, as three top-order batsmen failed to open their account.

    The start was inauspicious for CSK as Trent Boult dismissed Faf du Plessis in the fifth ball of the very first over when the New Zealand pace spearhead had the veteran South African caught by the backward point fielder Adam Milne, who was standing very fine, after the batsman had shaped himself up to play the cut shot.

    One for one became two for two in the next over as Milne got Moeen Ali who slapped a slightly short ball straight to Saurabh Tiwary at cover.

    What didn’t help Moeen was that the ball seemed to stop as the England all-rounder went for his shot.

    More trouble was in store for CSK as the three-time winners lost the big wicket of Raina in the third over when the experienced left-handed batsman, who has helped the team win so many matches in the past, got out to an irresponsible shot when he miscued one while trying to attack the Kiwi seamer.

    Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu retired hurt after taking a blow on his body to make matter worse for the Super Kings.

    If that was not enough, holders Mumbai Indians piled more misery on CSK by sending the veteran Dhoni back to the hut for a poor score.

    The World Cup-winning Indian captain timed his shot well but, to his shock, Boult completed a well-judged catch at deep square leg, capping a forgettable powerplay for the unit from Chennai.

    After that, Gaikwad and Jadeja put together invaluable runs by mixing caution with aggression to give their team a total to defend against a side that is missing two of their big players in regular skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whose seam-up bowling was missed when the Chennai duo was rebuilding their innings.

  • CSK skipper MS Dhoni wins toss, elects to bat against Mumbai Indians

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat against defending champions Mumbai Indians, who are being led by Kieron Pollard in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, as IPL action resumed here on Sunday.

    The IPL-14 was postponed after the coronavirus breached its bio-bubble in May.

    Dashing all-rounder Hardik Pandya is also missing the game for MI, making the way for Anmolpreet Singh’s debut.

    On Rohit’s absence, Pollard said, “He is okay, we will see him sooner rather than later. He is the captain of this ship. I am just standing in.”

    For CSK, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo and Josh Hazlewood are the four foreigners playing in the match.

    Teams:

    Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

    Mumbai Indians: Kieron Pollard (C),Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult

  • CSK stars Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Moeen Ali arrive in Dubai, to undergo 6-day quarantine

    By ANI

    DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara and Moeen Ali on Sunday arrived in Dubai for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

    The boys will now undergo a six-day quarantine and join the rest of the squad members who are already in the IPL 2021 bubble.

    “En-coming. 4 times the joy today at Whistles Kingdom!” CSK tweeted.

    Meanwhile, RCB skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Siraj also arrived in Dubai on Sunday ahead of the resumption of the IPL 2021. The duo will now undergo six-day mandatory quarantine and then they both will join the team bubble in Dubai.

    With the final Test between India and England in Manchester cancelled, IPL franchises on Friday got in touch with charter companies to fly out their players from Manchester to UAE for the resumption of the cash-rich league.

    The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

    The action will then shift to Abu Dhabi where Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings.

    In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi. The BCCI has decided to do away with contact tracing devices for the UAE leg, starting on September 19.