IPL BACK WITH A BANG
THRILLER SETS THE TONE FOR T20 EVENT
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on the experienced players in his side after they toppled defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
South African veteran Faf du Plessis smashed an unbeaten 58 to guide Chennai to a five-wicket win, chasing Mumbai’s 162 in Abu Dhabi as the event began last Saturday (19), started months late because of the pandemic.
Once labelled “Dads Army” by the media, Chennai have a number of players over the age of 35, including Dhoni, Australia’s Shane Watson, du Plessis and South African Imran Tahir.
But Dhoni said that kind of experience would always be an asset, with the perfect side needing the “right mix of youngsters and the experienced players”.
“What really helps youngsters in (the) IPL is the fact that senior cricketers (come) from... different countries,” said Dhoni, who retired from international cricket last month.
Du Plessis’ fellow South African veteran AB de Villiers struck a brisk half-century as Royal Challengers Bangalore opened their IPL campaign with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday (21). De Villiers struck 51 off 30 deliveries to guide last year’s wooden spooners Bangalore, captained by Virat Kohli, to 163 for five and a 10-run victory.
Bangalore, led by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal,who returned impressive figures of 3-18 from his four overs, bowled out Hyderabad for 153 despite a valiant 61 by Jonny Bairstow.
“It’s a nice change to get on the right side of a close game early on in the season. We worked very hard for the win,” said de Villiers. “It’s a great start for us and hopefully a good sign of things to come.”
In the final opening weekend fixture, Australia’s Marcus Stoinis smashed a whirlwind half-century as Delhi Capitals edged out Kings XI Punjab in a super-over thriller last Sunday (20).
Stoinis proved his worth for Delhi, who bought the allrounder in the December auction, with his 21-ball 53 to lift the side to 157 for eight after being put into bat in Dubai.
Mayank Agarwal nearly trumped the batting blitz with his 89 off 60 balls as Punjab closed in on their target, but Stoinis claimed two wickets on successive balls in the final over to take the match into a super over.
Delhi’s South African quick Kagiso Rabada struck twice in the super over to limit Punjab to just two runs as the loss of two wickets in the over ended the team’s one-over innings.