In years gone by, Chennai Super Kings’ tried-and-tested template for success manifested itself majestically on slow and sluggish surfaces.
The IPL clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, where chants of ‘CSK, CSK’ reverberated all along, was a throwback to that style. The five-time champion kept Delhi Capitals down to 155 for seven on a tricky strip before the batters in yellow adopted a measured approach to knock off the target in 17.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.
The pursuit was anchored by the experienced Sanju Samson (87 n.o., 52b, 7×4, 6×6).
The Indian opener, who has been in sublime touch since the latter stages of the T20 World Cup, pulled with panache and drove elegantly during a knock that demonstrated his wisdom. He notably went after the off-colour Kuldeep Yadav, whose short deliveries were meat and drink for the man from Kerala.At the start of CSK’s chase, the impression of the surface being inimical to stroke-play was reinforced. It ambled to 28 for one in five overs before Urvil Patel pummelled Lungi Ngidi for two consecutive maximums in the sixth over.
Urvil, however, fell to Axar Patel in the very next over, lured into lunging forward and missing the ball altogether as K.L. Rahul took off the bails for a stumping. Samson, in conjunction with Kartik Sharma, took control thereafter and ensured no more hiccups.
The CSK bowlers were responsible for setting up the win. Barring Anshul Kamboj, who conceded 49 runs in four wicketless overs, the attack had a fruitful evening. Noor Ahmad snared two scalps while Akeal Hosein, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh and Jamie Overton took a wicket each. Akeal, who opened the bowling on his return to the line-up, found a hint of grip and spin almost instantly.
For the host, Tristan Stubbs (38, 31b, 1×4, 2×6) and Sameer Rizvi (40 n.o., 24b, 4×6) were notable contributors. The duo put together 65 runs for the sixth wicket, enabling a decent recovery from 69 for five after 11 overs. It was too few in the end against an outfit that seemed to be at home in these conditions.
