NEWS
Follow UsWhen Chennai Super Kings (CSK) walked out to bat against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), everyone were talking about the possibility of a 200+ score. It was on the back of how the scoring patterns have been in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where even 200s have largely looked lacklustre.
But after 40 overs, as it turned out, it wasn’t a wicket that had 200 runs in it. In the post-match presentation, Ruturaj Gaikwad reckoned that CSK’s strong start could have propelled them to a score of 180-200, which would have proven to be more than a handful.
"Everyone believed the wicket was slow, it was coming slow off the wicket, even low bounce. But with the start we got (60/1), we thought we could push till 180-200,” Gaikwad said in the post-match presentation.
It was that one over from Rahul Chahar which turned the scoring rate down, with the leg-spinner removing the in-form Gaikwad and Shivam Dube in consecutive deliveries. Post that, the five-time IPL champions struggled to find momentum before a late partnership (28 off 16) between Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur took them to 167.
“But we lost two wickets in consecutive balls, and then we thought probably 160-170 would be a good score, or just par, here and there, ten runs short. But the way the wicket played in the second innings, definitely I'd say [167 was a] par score." he added.
Jadeja didn’t stop with his batting display (43 off 26), the left-arm spinner played a huge role with the ball in the second innings where he struck thrice in his spell, conceding just 20 runs.
"It was a day game, so the wicket was slow, which we expected. We did well in the [batting] powerplay, but then we couldn't build partnerships. We wanted to build partnerships, so in the last four-five overs, we could score quickly. Partnerships didn't happen, but as a bowling group, we did well. Tushar [Deshpande] got important wickets in the powerplay. Then Mitch [Santner] and I did well in the middle overs,” Jadeja said in the post-match presentation.
"During the powerplay, the wicket always looks flat. But as the ball gets a little old, the ball doesn't come on to the bat. Especially at a new venue, you don't know what to expect. That's why we felt we were 15-20 runs short but we bowled well in the powerplay and middle overs, didn't bowl loose balls,” he added.
It wasn’t just Jadeja who made an impact with the ball for the five-time IPL champions; it was also Delhi’s Simrajeet Singh, who was making his maiden appearance this year. The 26-year-old pacer bowled with some heat, bowling at 140+ kmph, removing Jitesh Sharma and Harshal Patel with figures of 2/16 in three overs.
"I don't know what he's doing, but even the pre-season we had, he was clicking around 150s [kph] in practice," Gaikwad was in praise of Simarjeet.
"But nevertheless, nothing is late, and he got a game today. We were thinking of sending an impact batter but then we thought the impact batter might give 10-15 runs extra, but the kind of bowling he has, we might end up getting two-three wickets extra as well. Good for him, he has been working hard,” he concluded.
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