Follow UsChennai Super Kings extended their dominance over Royal Challengers Bengaluru to yet another season, bossing them by a margin of six wickets in the opening game of IPL 2023. At the center of their success was Mustafizur Rahman, who bowled a crushing spell in the powerplay to break RCB’s back - from which the Faf du Plessis-led side couldn’t recover.
CSK’s bowling coach Eric Simons was very happy with the way the Bangladesh pacer went about his business and the way he stuck to the plan they had devised before the game.
“It was always about the conditions and the balance of the side that we would like a left-armer, something we have worked with for a while, somebody that brings something different. We just felt that he does suit the conditions, but again, it’s the simplicity of the plan that we put in place. It has always been the hallmark of the way we go about our stuff, and he executed beautifully,” Simons said in the post-match press conference.
“I think the important thing in these kind of tournaments is to coach people to be themselves. I think that is the way the guys like to play, whether it is with the bat or the ball. It’s important to express yourself and play the way you like. We have quite a lot of depth in the team; it allows us to play with that freedom and be intimidating to the opposition.
“The most important thing is the freedom. It's the freedom to express yourself, the freedom to fail, but most importantly, the freedom to be yourself. You can’t pick a team with six Chris Gayles. It’s very important that Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t be like Chris Gayle and vice versa. It's really about finding your way to do it,” the South African said.
Tushar Deshpande has grown to become a mainstay in the CSK side over the last couple of years and crucially, he has done a good job both in powerplay and in death overs. Sure, he has gone for runs - like he did against RCB on Friday - but Simons is confident that the Mumbaikar will make a roaring comeback.
“He has been superb in the nets, both with the new ball and at the back end of the innings. One of the hallmarks of the way we go about things is to make sure that you learn from what happened and then you don’t start again with somebody else to learn. He would have learned from tonight,” Simons added.