Rayudu by his side, Dhoni rolls back years for Chennai
BANGALORE: “Dhoni finishes off in style! A magnificent strike into the crowd…” It’s been a little over seven years since that iconic line from Ravi Shastri defined India reaching their promised land by lifting the 2011 World Cup. A lot has changed since but against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (70 off 34 balls) reiterated with the bat that the finisher in him is probably as young as he was on that night at the Wankhede Stadium.
When Dhoni came out to bat, his side was reeling at 74/4 after nine overs. At the other end, a settled Ambati Rayudu (82 off 53) was delivering what exactly was required of him. He had raced on to 31 off 18 balls, but took 22 deliveries to reach his half-century mark. He did it in some style though, launching Pawan Negi into the cow corner for a gigantic six before restarting the carnage. Having scored 79 in the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rayudu was anyway the in-form batsman for the visitors.
But the manner in which he paced his innings, is perhaps what stood out on Wednesday. It’s never easy to put a leash after one’s off to a good start but he did the understandable thing of promoting Dhoni to take on the opposition as he held fort. That he’s currently the highest rungetter in the tournament also speaks volumes of his contribution to the Chennai side this season.
With 21 required of the last seven balls, Mohammad Siraj sent down three consecutive wides. The first one was way too short and went flying over Dhoni, the second went wide past the off stump and the third was a combination of the two. Batting at 62 then off 32 deliveries, there was a sense of fear that Dhoni had instilled in Siraj — bowling anywhere where Dhoni could connect with the bat was out of the equation. After all, his last legal delivery, a low full toss, was sliced by the former Indian skipper for a six over third-man.
Dhoni had simply rolled back his years. Unlike last year with Rising Pune Supergiant where he would often eat up a lot of deliveries before starting to free his arms, this season Dhoni has approached the game in the true essence of T20 cricket — hit whatever’s in the zone with minimal time to settle down.
On Wednesday too, Dhoni followed the same mantra. He got off his mark with a towering six against Pawan Negi in the 10th over before picking up those singles and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking. In between, however, there would be those gigantic shots that would fly up to the media box and create a loud thud on the glass. No way could one not pay attention to the brute power with which the shots were unleashed.
He even reached his half-century with a six over the bowler’s head and despite Rayudu falling at the other end, the damage was already done. Thirty runs were required off the last two overs, but the hosts were the ones who were the tensed ones out in the middle. Dwayne Bravo then did what he does best; scoring a quickfire knock of 14 off seven deliveries before Dhoni heaved one into the crowd to finish things off in style. New Plymouth Colombo Bangalore Lauderhill Auckland 2016 2016 2018 2016 2018 NEWDELHI: Delhi Daredevils’ anticipation of a new IPL season has plunged into agony, and Gautam Gambhir quitting as skipper has highlighted the crisis they are in as they face Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.
The start of their home run left Daredevils in despair after a fourrun loss to KXIP on Monday, and the anticipated second leg of Gambhir versus the team he led to two titles thus will be the start of what the hosts hope will help salvage another season gone horribly wrong. IPL has shown it is unforgiving if teams don’t grab their chances. And though the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore ended last in 2017 and holders Mumbai Indians too are struggling this time, Daredevils have faced the same questions season after season. Finding an opener to take on Gambhir’s role will be the least of their problem as the left-handed opener had been in woeful form. Kolkata Knight Riders will be high on confidence against a team they crushed by 71 runs at the Eden Gardens. Daredevils’ new skipper Shreyas Iyer will have to learn fast though the demand on the 23-year-old will on continuing to deliver with the bat as getting tactics spot on will be a collective
responsibility, as coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged.
Shreyas Iyer though will have to get over the agony of the near miss in the previous game against KXIP. Needing 17 runs in the final over in a low-scoring game, he hit 12 but fell off the last ball when needing at least a boundary to force the Super Over.
by CSK vs RCB in Chennai, 2012 by CSK vs RCB in Bangalore, 2018