he Chennai Super Kings playbook has one abiding formula: a top-order
contribution, a blitz from the finishers and a strangle by the spinners.
Brendon McCullum
took care of objective one with his third half-century in six matches,
MS Dhoni swung his bat around to lift the total to 148 in a rain-reduced
match and Ravindra Jadeja swindled 4 for 12 to down Kolkata Knight Riders with ease.
Robin Uthappa, who opened for Knight Riders, posed the greatest threat
with his execution matching his intent. He crunched four fours and a six
on either side of losing his partner Gautam Gambhir in the third over.
He was conscious to use his feet, unafraid of going aerial and the
reverse sweep was a trusted weapon as well. But his stroke-play
coincided with a dreadful collapse at the other end. The introduction of
spin left Knight Riders 39 for 4 at the end of the Powerplay, too deep a
hole to escape from no matter how long Yusuf Pathan managed to biff the
ball down the ground.
The Jadeja-R Ashwin combination plucked three wickets in five balls and
Knight Riders' middle order was broken inside the first six overs.
Uthappa waged his battle until he became Jadeja's fourth victim to hand
the left-arm spinner the best figures of the season.
The start of the Indian leg of the IPL was delayed by an hour and 40
minutes after an unseasonal shower in Ranchi limited the game to 17
overs a side. Knight Riders utilised spin for the entirety of the
Powerplay and were encouraged by some help from the pitch. But a
persistence in pushing the balls through allowed McCullum to settle and
shepherd Super Kings past the loss of Dwayne Smith in the third over.
Piyush Chawla was particularly adamant in refusing to flight the ball.
Suresh Raina and McCullum had no qualms with that as they joined hands
for a brisk 70-run stand for the second wicket. The introduction of pace
did little to stem the flow of runs as Vinay Kumar fed McCullum with a
steady diet of short balls that ended up being thudded into the
midwicket boundary. The five overs between the eighth and 12th yielded
51 runs for one wicket.
Sunil Narine was his usual miserly self and Super Kings seemed to be
running out of gas in the final overs, especially when McCullum was
caught in the deep for 56. But some initiative and wayward bowling from
Andre Russell, who was brought in for Morne Morkel, allowed the home
side to finish on a high.
Those extra runs ensured Yusuf's late pummeling in the Knight Riders'
chase was inconsequential. He blazed three sixes in the penultimate over
and each of them gave the fielder no chance. Knight Riders would hope
the next time he wields the long handle, the equation will not read 59
off 12.
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