Chennai Super Kings batters dazzled before the bowlers ran riot to choke Gujarat Titans in a comprehensive 63-run victory in their second IPL match on Tuesday. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team has covered all its bases and it was evident as Rachin Ravindra prepared a platform with 20-ball-46 allowing Shivam Dube to unlock his beast mode with a 23-ball-51. In between, Gaikwad himself maintained the balance with 36-ball-46 as Chennai’s 206 for 6 was a Herculean total in every sense. Titans in reply could manage only 143/8 as Chahar (2/28 in 4 overs), Mustafizur Rahman (2/30 in 4 overs), Tushar Deshpande (2/21) and Matheesha Pathirana (1/29 in 4 overs) one by one tightened the noose on Titans batting unit.
If Gujarat needed to make a match of it, Shubman Gill needed to fire but his poor shot selection of a Deepak Chahar delivery, which wasn’t as short as expected for a pull-shot, brought about his downfall.
Once Shubman was gone, Gujarat didn’t even have a chance in hell with players like Wriddhiman Saha (21 off 17 balls) and B Sai Sudharsan (37, 31 balls), players, who on most days are pillion riders, playing second fiddle to perfection.
As it was the case, finishers like David Miller (21) and Rahul Tewatia (1) didn’t have enough on the board to go for the improbable chase and the inevitable happened. Put into bat, Rachin’s slam-bang approach and Dube’s final flourish got CSK past 200-run mark.
Rachin made full use of Powerplay, racing to 46 off 20 balls while Dube, a nightmare for spinners then used his long levers to whack 51 in only 23 deliveries to increase the challenge of GT batters by manifold. Dube’s innings had as many as five sixes.In between, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s chiselled 46 off 36 balls also was a significant contribution in another impactful batting performance on a hard bouncy track that was on offer. Not to forget CSK’s Rs 7.60 crore recruit Sameer Rizvi (14 off 6 balls), who pummeled Rashid Khan (2/49 in 4 overs) for two sixes to mark a memorable IPL debut.
It was Rachin, who has already become a darling of the CSK fans, enthralled all and sundry with his audacious stroke-play. While he missed out again on a half-century but team’s ‘spiritual skipper’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be all smiles knowing that his choice was perfect to the T. The three sixes — a flick behind the square and one over long-on off the normally profligate Umesh Yadav and one off Azmatullah Omarzai were hit with so much disdain that it did put Gujarat Titans in a spot. There were some crunchy cover drives as Ravindra let his skipper Gaikwad breathe a little easy at the other end.
Finally, it was GT’s ‘Go-To’ bowler Rashid, who drew the first blood but more because of smart work from Wriddhiman Saha, who removed the bails in a flash after the Black Caps opener lost his balance moved out of his crease trying to whip the delivery.
Saha’s next stumping was way easier as Sai Kishore shortened the length and drew him out of his crease for an indiscreet loft. The ball deviated enough and the keeper completed mere formality.
Gaikwad wasn’t as fluent as Ravindra to begin with but in his five boundaries and a six, he oozed class before becoming Saha’s third victim with the gloves trying to pull Spencer Johnson, only to end up edging one behind the stumps.
After that it was Dube, who just plonked his front-foot and bludgeoned Sai Kishore for two monstrous sixes and also sent Johnson’s delivery soaring for a maximum. Dube had the composed Daryl Mitchell for company, who also chipped in with an unbeaten 20-ball-24 in a stand of 57 runs for the fourth wicket in 5.5 overs.
