IPL 2020: Match 14: Youngsters come to the party for Sunrisers

Chennai Superkings is one of the most successful teams in IPL. One of the reasons for this consistency is that they kept the core team intact for many years lead by the majestic Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But now the problems are seeping in. The team’s average age is very high for any T20 setup. 7 of their players in the playing 11 are above 35 years and that’s not very ideal. Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand is having an inexperienced middle-order and some very young bowlers to boot. So one may call that yesterday’s match up was old vs new. Both the teams have been struggling thus far at this year’s IPL and it was an interesting match yesterday in Dubai.

Here are my 5 point highlights of yesterday’s match.

1. The Young Guns of Sunrisers come to the party

Sunrisers Hyderabad was not off to a good start. Their scoreboard read 69/4 after 11 overs. CSK was right on the top with two very young players, Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma in the crease. Both of them had yet to fire in IPL. Both Priyam and Abhishek are talented youngsters with Garg leading India U-19 team to the finals this year and Abhishek was part of the previous U-19 team lead by Prithvi Shaw which won the World Cup. But yesterday was a different challenge – they had to take the team out of trouble. And they did that with aplomb. Priyam Garg played all around the wicket and all bowlers got the treatment. His cuts and pulls were pleasing to the eye and he ended up with 51 runs off 26 balls. Abhishek Sharma was good too and he matched stroke for stroke with Garg and together they had a partnership of 77 runs off just 7 overs to take Sunrisers to a respectable total. Another young player, Abdul Samad joined Garg after Abhishek got out and helped the team reach a healthy total of 164 runs. Samad’s day was not over though because in the second innings he finished his quota of 4 overs and took the wicket of Kedar Jadhav. Though his final over went for 20 runs he bowled well and helped SRH win the contest. The ball followed Priyam Garg yesterday. Multiple times the ball kept coming to him in the field and he showed his outstanding fielding skills by saving 2 boundaries. All in all, it was a great day out for the youngsters.

2. Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja has been a supreme performer for CSK over the years but he is not in his usual self this year. Something is not looking right. In the first 3 matches, he went for over 40 runs in each of them. He is known to keep one end tight even if he doesn’t take wickets but that has not been the case in this year’s IPL yet. Yesterday also he went for 16 runs in the 2 overs he bowled. That MSD is not having the confidence to bowl him out proves something is wrong with this southpaw. Add to this the horrendous fielding performance. As I said earlier, having an aging team will have detrimental effects on the field but Jadeja is considered one of the best fielders in the world. But he ended up dropping a sitter and in the final analysis, it did hurt CSK. He did score a 50 while batting which was pleasing to the eye and I do hope that it will help him to regain the confidence and perform better in the coming matches. Losing 3 matches on the trot has not happened to CSK for a very long time so they would need some inspiration to turn this around.

3. Rashid Khan

Enough has been written about this diminutive leg spinner from Afghanistan. And I am sure this is not the last time I am writing about him. His 4 overs are like insurance cover for his captain. None of the teams tend to take any risks with him and that helps him to keep the run rate in check. Of course, the teams try to take extra risks against other bowlers and end up losing wickets. Yesterday was no different. Rashid Khan was at his miserly best once again. His first 3 overs went for just 5 runs and the asking run rate just shot up. His final figures read 12 runs off 4 overs and once again he was one of the game-changers of the match.

4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Age is just a number for MSD. He is still supremely fit. He kept for 20 overs and then had to come in early to bat and played till the end. It’s a rarity that MSD stayed till the end but the team lost – just shows the importance of Rashid Khan. The asking run rate was so steep that it was not possible to overcome the challenge. That they lost by only 7 runs was mainly due to MSD. Though I think he was tiring at the end and it would have been better if he had taken a single earlier and given the strike to Sam Curran who has been hitting the ball very well. But in the game of cricket, there is no question of ifs and buts. Dhoni went with the conviction to win the match single-handedly but failed. Due credit needs to be given to the bowlers too who didn’t give much room for him to hit those towering sixes. He ended with 47 off 36 balls. So near – yet so far.

5. Injury to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

CSK needed 44 runs in the last two overs with Bhuvi to bowl the 19th. Right after the first ball that he bowled he pulled up and was unable to continue any further. The physio tried to get him fit but it looked like a hamstring problem. Bhuvi has had a problem with injuries and this one could keep him out of action for long. That won’t be good news for SRH because he is an important clog in the bowling line up of SRH. With Bhuvi out of action, the match suddenly became interesting because SRH now had to bowl a spinner at the end. Warner did the smart thing by asking Khaleel to bowl the balance 5 balls of Bhuvi’s over. He went for 16 runs and left 27 runs to defend for Samad. Though Samad gave away 5 wides in the first ball and the last ball went for 6 – in between he bowled well and restricted the batsmen to only singles. Thankfully for SRH, the injury to Bhuvi didn’t cost them the match though they would be hoping that the injury is not too serious.

Towards the end, the match became interesting but overall, SRH had an easy victory and the onus had to be given to the youngsters for the same. IPL would be won by that team who plays the team game. One or two superheroes can’t win you the tournament. SRH will be hoping that their investment in youngsters will pay off. CSK though has a lot to answer.

What do you think is plaguing CSK? Should Rayudu open? Should they give Rituraj Gaikwad a longer run? Should they Imran Tahir back in the XI? Should Sam Curran play higher up?

Appreciate your views!

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