MS Dhoni fires another bazooka
Isn’t it the same Chennai Super Kings that chased down 200+ runs in their very second match? It certainly is and they have repeated their heroics yet again. That’s the beauty of T20s. Some action-packed hours which come to a close with a thrilling moment.
It was CSK’s day against the Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month and here they are again with another exciting game. The Chennai-based franchise has again earned the top spot while Royal Challengers Bangalore couldn’t make any change to their fate and their league position as well.
Following CSK’s decision to bowl first after the toss, it seems like this match had something different to offer. RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Quinton de Kock were off to a good start although the former had to return to the pavilion early as he tried to smash him but got caught at mid-on.
AB de Villiers then started off a carnage along with compatriot de Kock. Both of the South Africans picked up well-deserved fifties but the latter had to leave as Dwayne Bravo struck by getting him out caught and bowled. De Villiers also tried to hit the ball one too many and had to leave the crease facing a delivery from Imran Tahir, another of his compatriots.
The job wasn’t done yet. The rest of the group had to give a good finishing to what the top-order had started and Mandeep Singh did exactly that along with Washington Sundar who showcased an unbeaten cameo innings. Mandeep clubbed 32 from 17 balls before Sundar made 13 off 4 to lift the total past 200.
The trio that wiped the top-order got another wicket each during the rest of the match while RCB also fell victim to two run outs as well. They ended up scoring 205 for 8 wickets.
In reply, Chennai lost one of their most reliable batsmen of this season—Shane Watson way too early. Their middle-order also couldn’t stand firm as they went four down for 74 runs most of which came from Ambati Rayudu’s bat. Once again he came to CSK’s rescue while MS Dhoni teamed up with him as well.
Rayudu continued his blitzkrieg and added a massive 82 runs to the total from just 53 deliveries. He shared a 101-run stand with Dhoni who continued the momentum Rayudu had offered.
The captain cool, on the other hand, had to do more than what was required of him due to the lack of contribution from the middle-order earlier in their innings. He played an unbeaten innings of 70 runs off 34 balls with proper support from the other end as Dwayne Bravo made the job easier with his innings of 14 runs from 7 bals.
CSK won the match by 5 wickets and with 2 balls remaining.
