NEWS
Follow UsOn any other day, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would have ended up on the losing side, after spilling as many catches. However, against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday (April 17), they got out of jail and got just over the line to collect all two points.
MS Dhoni took a couple of high catches to get the wickets of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. Devon Conway, who keeps wicket for New Zealand on occasions, was relieved he was not under the ball on those occasions.
"Those were tough catches. It's not easy to catch balls that go straight up in the dark night. So, very crucial for us. I was very lucky to have MS with the gloves on. If there's any person you want to take those tough chances he's probably your guy. It was good for us. Broke the momentum of the innings, ultimately helped us win the game," Conway said in the post-match press conference.
However, after completing the catch that saw the back of Maxwell, Dhoni had a chat with the umpire as the spider camera got too close to the ball, making it even more tough to spot the ball.
"It's happened a couple of times now where, the ball has gotten very close to the spider cam and the wires. That can put a fielder off. Faf stepped away a couple of times because the shadows of the spider cam was in his way. It's a little bit testing for guys," Conway said.
"It's nice to have the technology to show different angles of the game but there comes a point where they cannot get too involved or interfere with the game. That was probably MS trying to speak to the umpires saying don't get too close to the action and try to avoid too much going on."
With 19 needed off the final over, Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana held his nerve and handed CSK the game with his pin-point yorkers and cleverly disguised slower deliveries. His unorthodox action further made it tough for the batters to pick him.
Speaking of the 20-year-old, Conway said, "It was a special effort by Matheesha to come into this team, first game this year for him in the IPL, and execute like that under pressure was brilliant. He's very unorthodox.
"I've personally haven't faced a ball of him, haven't faced him in the nets. I sort of watch him from a distance and I don't really want to face that. Was having a chat with Parny [Wayne Parnell] after the game. I sympathise with him. Facing your first ball from an action like that can be testing. It was crucial for us to have him tonight and execute his plans and that ultimately got us the win."
Maxwell, turned things around with an attacking 36-ball 76, that included as many as eight sixes. Along with his skipper Faf du Plessis, the Australia batter put on 126 off just 61 deliveries for the third wicket to give his side a chance. However, the well-set batters got out in two overs, and Maxwell regrets one of them not batting deep.
“A bit disappointed but I think we did so well to get so close and we were in the position to win the game. One of us should have been there a little bit longer, maybe had taken it deeper. We were trying to go as hard as possible to keep the run rate under 10. Once the ball started get softer, it started to hold a little bit, we saw how Jadeja get one past Dinesh Karthik back in the end,” Maxwell said.
“It was a pretty exciting game of cricket. There’s always going to be a winner or loser; unfortunately, we fell a little bit short,” he added.
RCB, who have now won just two of their five games, will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) next on Thursday (April 20) in Mohali. With this win, CSK jump to third in the points table, will look to keep the momentum going when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday (April 21) at Chepauk.
