CHENNAI: Not for nothing are Chennai Super Kings considered a different beast at home in the IPL. Despite opting for a brand-new bowling template and boldly fielding only one specialist spinner at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday, Chennai were too good for Gujarat Titans during their comprehensive 63-run victory.
After the batting trio of Rachin Ravindra, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube powered CSK to a mammoth 206-6, the bowling unit, which comprised only one tweaker in left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, did more than enough to restrict GT to 143-8.
Super Kings thus notched up their second successive win, while Titans endured their first defeat of the season.
Defending a huge total at the venue referred to as the team’s fortress, CSK were in cruise control throughout the second half.
Medium pacer Deepak Chahar (2-28) set the tone by removing both openers GT skipper Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha in his first spell, following which his bowling colleagues took the onus to get the job done.
With both Matheesha Pathirana (1-29) and Mustafizur Rahman (2-30) finding a place in the playing XII, Chennai sent down as many as 18 overs of pace, indicating a clear deviation from their usual template of choking the opposition with spin.
Barring ‘local lad’ B Sai Sudharsan (37 off 31 balls, 3x4), who came on as an ‘Impact Player’ in the chase, none of the Titans batters showed good application on a pitch that hardly had any demons on it.
Earlier, invited to bat first, Super Kings were off to a blazing start on a belter, courtesy Ravindra’s belligerent knock. Stylish southpaw Ravindra (46 off 20 balls, 6x4, 3x6) provided the opening burst and picked up from where he left off.
He had also scored an aggressive 37 against RCB in the opener. Ravindra ruled the Powerplay, at the end of which CSK were 69-1.
While Ravindra hammered the Titans bowling attack into submission from the word go, Ruturaj (46 off 36 balls, 5x4, 1x6) made the most of an early reprieve to lay a solid foundation. Dube, CSK’s designated spin hitter in the middle overs, took no time to settle down, playing his role to perfection with an influential 23-ball 51 (2x4, 5x6).
CSK could not have asked for a better start as Ruturaj was dropped on one by R Sai Kishore off Azmatullah Omarzai’s opening over. Sai Kishore, stationed at first slip, made a mess of a regulation catch and Ruturaj duly accepted the gift.
At the other end, Ravindra made mincemeat of new-ball partners Omarzai and Umesh Yadav before being stumped by Saha off leggie Rashid Khan. Ravindra’s innings had an assortment of strokes, be it a flick for a maximum over deep fine-leg or crisp cover drive for a four over covers.
Another left-hander, Dube, too left a mark in the middle after beginning his knock with successive sixes off left-arm spinner Sai Kishore.
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