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Who would have thought MS Dhoni would be the top scorer for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Umesh Yadav the best bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the tournament opener of the Indian Premier League. Written off by many, on Saturday evening at the Wankhede Stadium the two veterans proved they still have some steam left in them.
After Yadav had provided KKR the perfect start by prizing out two wickets in the powerplay, Dhoni came in towards the end of the CSK innings and scored an unbeaten half-century to give the defending champions something to bowl at.
Despite Dhoni’s effort, CSK’s total of 131 was not enough. Looking at the yellow outfit’s struggles with the bat gave the impression that the game was being played on a difficult pitch. But, the way KKR top-order batters came out and played their strokes it dispelled such doubts.
Ajinkya Rahane and Nitish Rana played delightful strokes to set up the chase, helping KKR beat CSK by six wickets. In his first innings for his new team, getting a chance to bat his preferred opening position, Rahane scored a fluent 44 off 34 balls (6 fours and one six) and proved that it was KKR bowlers’ fine showing that had made batting look a difficult profession.
KKR’s spinners kept batters on a leash and Yadav was superb with the new ball. It was a surprise when Yadav went unsold when his name first came up at the mega auction last month. His inconsistency was the reason franchises were reluctant to bid for him. He is not the typical T20 bowler, with a lot of variations and tight control. Even in limited overs format, he operates in the Test mode, looking to attack and bowling flat out. But there are aspects of play in T20 cricket where attacking the batters is a good option. The new ball is one. Such bowlers also need conditions to suit them.
To Yadav’s luck, bowling at Wankhede Stadium first up is always an advantage for the pacer because the pitch is fresh and offers nip. KKR went for him at the auction and Yadav has repaid their faith. On Saturday, he was running in nicely, pitching it in the good areas and moving the ball that his opening spell of 3-0-12-2 won him the man of the match. For KKR it augurs well for the season.
Iyer outshines Jadeja
Getting into the game, the spotlight was mainly on how the two new captains, Shreyas Iyer and Jadeja, would fare. Iyer was spot on as a captain. After the luck of the coin, he used his bowling resources expertly. While Yadav made his job easy with the opening burst, Iyer employed his spinners Sunil Narine (4-0-15-0) and Varun Chakaravarthy (4-0-23-1) expertly. The India spinner was bowled for four overs straight from sixth to build the pressure and Narine at various stages, in the 7th and 9th overs and later against Dhoni and Jadeja. On their part, the two unorthodox spinners used the length deliveries to good effect, extracting bounce from the red-soil deck.
As for Jadeja, apart from the six, he couldn’t hit his rhythm. The left-hander scratched around for 26 not out off 28 balls. Jadeja came into the attack in the 11th over, by then KKR had built a solid foundation. He finished with a tidy spell of 4-0-25-0, but Tushar Deshpande, Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner were easily taken for runs. Only veteran Dwayne Bravo held his own, picking up three wickets, during the process equalling Lasith Malinga’s record for most wickets (170) in the IPL.
Put into bat, CSK were off to a sluggish start. They reached 57 for four in 10 overs. In comparison, KKR were 76 for two after 10 overs. Robin Uthappa got off to a start but none of CSK’s other top order batters found their rhythm, costing them the game.
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