CSK vs DD: Chennai showed their true colours against Delhi

Tags: Indian Premier League 2014, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils

Published on: Apr 22, 2014

On days when Chennai Super Kings get their act right, they are pretty much unsurmountable. The match against Delhi Daredevils on Monday was one such occasion.

On days when Chennai Super Kings get their act right, they are pretty much unsurmountable. The match against Delhi Daredevils on Monday was one such occasion. Chennai batted first and were excellent all-round as they put up a highly impressive score on the board. Most of their key batsmen made significant contributions in the same. When it was their turn to bowl, their bowlers, both pacers and spinners, never allowed Delhi Daredevils to settle in. Their fielding was also spectacular on the day, and in the end, Delhi were pretty much embarrassed.

In the game against Kings XI Punjab, Chennai’s batsmen adopted the hit out approach right from the start. But, against the Daredevils, they reverted to their tried and tested formula of going steady at the start, and exploding later on. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith were superb with their attacking game against Punjab. McCullum fell early on this occasion, but Smith kept things moving from the other end. People may say that T20 is a slam bang game, but time and again Chennai have proved critics wrong with their two-tiered approach. Monday was another instance of the same.

Suresh Raina may be struggling in international cricket of late, but come the IPL and he transforms himself into a different personality altogether. Raina’s knock against the Daredevils wasn’t a slam-bang one. On the contrary, he relied on placement and timing, which he had in abundance during the innings. Once he got his eye in, Raina opened up and ensured the big strokes were hit towards the end of the innings. It was a typical Chennai-type innings, which accelerated as the innings went on. Above all, Raina ensured that the innings never got stuck by constantly turning over the strike.

In the context of the match, the cameos by Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni were critical. With wickets in hand, du Plessis and Dhoni had a free hand to go after the bowling. But, in the past, there have been instances when teams have ended up with a low score in spite of having wickets in hand. This is where Dhoni in particular has been extremely handy for Chennai. Against Delhi as well, he attacked the bowling without any fear, and ensured that Chennai ended up with an impressive total. The contribution of Mithun Manhas was also essential in Chennai finishing with a flurry.

Delhi could have challenged the total with some good contributions early in the innings, but the same never came, following which Chennai were completely in command. Even as Delhi batted abysmally, Chennai’s bowlers were equally brilliant. The spin trio of Ishwar Pandey, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mohit Sharma kept things extremely tight and were suitably rewarded for their efforts. The match was very much in Chennai’s hand by the time Ravichandran Ashwin came on to bowl. To his credit, the offie still did not give anything away. It was a typical super Chennai performance – nearly flawless.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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