MASTERCLASS FROM CSK – IPL 2024

It was a clinical win for the CSK. Right from the time when Gaikwad and Rachindra walked out to the pitch, the match belonged to CSK. GT seemed completely rudderless and lost in the sea of Yellow at Chepauk.

Ravin Rachindra is the find of the year. He showed us the class and the caliber in the ODI World Cup in late 2023 and he is reminding us in IPL, how he is one of the superstars of tomorrow in all forms of cricket. When he is on the crease, he completely dominates the opposition. It was unfortunate that he could not reach his 50 but I am sure he will be meeting the much higher milestones in the future.

With Ravindra hitting at one end, the other end was steadied by Gaikwad. When Ravindra got out and Rahane also followed soon, enter Shivam Dube. His innings tonight would put him in contention of T20 World Cup hopefuls. He hit 51 off 23 balls with 5 impressive sixes and an impressive strike rate of above 200%. Good contributions by Mitchell and Rizvi helped CSK reach 206 for 6 in the designated 20 overs. Shivam Dube was awarded Man of the match.

Gujarats body language right from the beginning was defeatist in nature today. The batting was ordinary and the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Barring Sai Sudarshan, who had come in the second innings as the Impact Player for GT, no other batsmen seemed to making an effort to win. As compared to 11 sixes hit by CSK, GT managed to hit only 3. All the bowlers of CSK were economical, especially Tushar Deshpande. Dhoni showed with his agility as a wicketkeeper that age is just a number for him.

GT lost by 63 runs. This win takes CSK to the top of the table not just on the basis of points but in terms of Net Run Rate. Will loss in net run rate impact GT’s chances of entering playoffs later or is it too early to say.? What do you think?