IPL opener fails to live up to top billing as Dhoni's CSK steamrolls Kohli & Co at Chepauk
CSK's Harbhajan Singh is ecstatic after taking a wicket on Saturday. Pic/PTI
The opening match of IPL 2019 began on a solemn note with a military band playing a number commemorating the Pulwama terror attack victims. But the Chennai outfit got out of that sober mood very soon to put on their game face and skittle Royal Challengers Bangalore for 70 in 17.1 overs, the sixth lowest total in the history of IPL. The home side did not have too many nervy moments while emerging a seven-wicket winner at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday night.
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There were several factors that went in favour of Chennai. Their opening bowlers — Deepak Chahar and Harbhajan Singh — produced a thrifty spell and the subsequent bowlers, particularly the spinners continued the excellent work. But the real match-winner for Chennai was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who read the pitch to perfection.
Imran Tahir
Judging the slow and low nature of the 22-yard strip, Dhoni did not have much hesitation in opting to bowl and straightaway pressed Harbhajan into action with the new ball. The veteran offie rewarded the call with three wickets — Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali. However, the dismissal of De Villiers had more to do with his own indiscretion than any demons in the pitch.
The South African legend was granted an extension of stay when Imran Tahir dropped him off Harbhajan but the very next ball he pulled the off-spinner straight to Ravindra Jadeja at midwicket to perish for nine. Shimron Hetmyer too fell for an utterly needless attempt to steal a single. But those two dismissals apart, the Royal Challengers batsmen failed to negate the pitch and Chennai spinners.
Kohli seemed to have not taken the nature of the pitch in consideration, picking only two spinners — Ali and Yuzvendra Chahal — and the team composition was such that there was not even a part-time spinner. In contrast, Chennai employed three full-time tweakers and a part-timer in Suresh Raina, whose big moment came when the left-hander became the first batsman in IPL's history to cross the 5000-run mark.
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