Soporific event
In order to increase the net run rate, one would anticipate that the batting team would close out the innings quickly, especially with seven wickets remaining and 28 needed in 36 balls. particularly considering that Punjab Kings are wallowing in the bottom half of the standings. However, Mustafizur Rahman’s maiden over was played by Shashank Singh, who has drawn attention this season for his crisp striking. What was going to be a romp became a dawdle. Sam Curran whacked one aerially to long-on a little while later and, fearing he would be caught, forgot to run. In an era where a team’s ability to qualify for the playoffs may depend on net run rate, they cannot afford to be so complacent.
Dhoni’s work on the pad
MS Dhoni played the role of a hockey goalie in the final two overs of the Chennai Super Kings defence. Richard Gleeson and Mustafizur Rahman both spat slower balls and cutters that occasionally bounced twice before reaching Dhoni. Not only did the outfield bounce rather unevenly, but it also made it challenging to judge the ball. He thus used his pads to block the balls, usually standing but occasionally crouching if he wasn’t sure how the ball would bounce. To his dismay, both, however, made mistakes with their lengths. Rahman, who is usually accurate, ruined an otherwise outstanding display of cunning by bowling four wides in his final over. Though Dhoni’s pads were positioned to prevent the ball from dribbling to the fence, Gleeson’s attempted slower ball slipped out of his palms, sailed above the waist, and dipped savagely onto Dhoni. He had quick feet and frequently displayed his entire set of pads when he struck the ball.
MS performs for the audience
When does reverence for heroes become contempt for other people? When does refusing runs—especially in the last over with a legitimate six-hitter and a specialist batsman at the other end—become a problem for the supporters of the team? Not on Wednesday in Chennai. With little over two overs remaining, MS Dhoni entered the field and amassed a score of 14 from 11 balls before being run out on the last ball of the innings, marking his first wicket of the season. He managed to hit a six and a four, but not much else. Dhoni hitting a ball to long-off and Daryl Mitchell scoring two runs on his own without adding to the score while Dhoni remained in place was not a good look, though. It’s known that the Kiwi locates the stands on his own. Perhaps Dhoni believed Mitchell would find Arshdeep Singh’s left-arm angle challenging. Maybe he simply recalled the first rule of mass media: cater to the needs of the general audience!
The protracted delay
This season, batsmen have rabidly attempted to clear the fence in 48 games, hitting up to 871 sixes (18 sixes each game), and they haven’t raised much of a stink about it. However, a match like this one emerges that breaks the pattern. On a comparatively slow surface, CSK’s batters fussed, fumed, and fidgeted to pound the ball past the ropes for 16.1 overs. Ultimately, a review revealed that Ruturaj Gaikwad was given the chance to attempt the subsequent free-hit without taking any risks, thanks to a waist-high no-ball. He proceeded to do so, smashing the ball into the stands. One six brought more, such as the majority of states’ state-run buses, and Gaikwad completed the over with one more maximum. When the ball jumped out of Jonny Bairstow’s hands and past the ropes two balls later, he assisted his England teammate Moeen Ali with another six.
Season’s first wide ball
Harshal Patel has found solace in this season. The secret was that he started to utilise his slower blower sparingly while also rediscovering his mastery of length, which was the cornerstone of his success in previous editions. But it was reminiscent of his scattergun days when he faced the Chennai Super Kings with his opening ball. He just didn’t see the trajectory, and as soon as it left his hands, everyone knew where it was going—the fence-cushion, which was to the fine-leg fielder’s left. It began with a leg-stump, swung away and then, without catching Ruturaj Gaikwad’s hopeful leg glance, slid past the wicket-keeper’s lunge and the wide line, racing to the fence for five wides. The delivery was so wide that it would have been ruled wide even if Gaikwad had been left-handed. Harshal gave a sheepish smile. Sam Curran, his captain, gave him the stink look.
