The Chennai Super Kings brand has been built around their ability to fight back from points of no return. They have done it time and again over the years and on Sunday, against a powerful Mumbai Indians, they showed that it has only got better with time.
After being reduced to 24/4 (Ambati Rayudu being retired hurt) on IPL's resumption in Dubai, Ruturaj Gaikwad fashioned a brilliant comeback for the three-time champions as they notched up a 20-run win to go top of the table.
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The right-hander batted with no fear when wickets were falling around him to score an unbeaten 88 that helped CSK reach 156/6. It gave the yellow brigade the oxygen to fight and then it was the turn of the bowlers coupled with some astute captaincy of MS Dhoni that won the day for CSK. Swing bowler Deepak Chahar dismissed the openers Anmolpreet Singh and Quinton de Kock and then Dhoni did what he does. He used his T20 intelligence, cut down the scoring angles of batsmen, kept changing his bowlers at the right time as Mumbai huffed and puffed to finish at 136/8.
The fact that captain Rohit Sharma and explosive allrounder Hardik Pandya were not there didn't make things any easier for Mumbai when things started taking a wrong turn. Pandya's absence was especially felt when Mumbai needed around 50 off the last four overs but there was no one to give the defending champions the necessary push.
But before that, it was all about Ruturaj. The batsman had worked on the strength of his core muscles before the tournament and that gave him the power that he earlier lacked. The right-hander cleared the fence with ease under pressure and it brought CSK right back.
"I didn't think too much about what was happening at the other end. My job was to carry on batting and attack when the spinners came on," Ruturaj said at the break.
It was really a torrid start for CSK as Trent Boult (2/35) and Adam Milne (2/21) made use of a little bit of life that was there in the pitch. The two foreigners Faf du Plessis and Moeen Ali were gobbled up for 0, but the biggest blow came in the form of an injury to Rayudu. An Adam Milne short ball hit him on the elbow and the right-hander had to leave the ground, writhing in pain, and it seemed there was no way back. The other two retired stars in the top half MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, too, got out early and MI must have thought they would keep CSK to below 120.
But it was at this point that Ruturaj got involved in an 81-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (26). The right-hander did get a life on 19 when wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock dropped him off leggie Rahul Chahar, but that takes nothing away from his performance.
Mumbai's stand-in captain Kieron Pollard missed a trick at this point when he introduced two spinners and kept Bumrah for later stages. It gave Ruturaj the confidence to launch the attack and with the solidity of Jadeja at the other end, things suddenly started looking easier for the 25-year-old Maharashtra batsman.
1/10:CSK win Phase 2 opener
<p>Ruturaj Gaikwad laid the foundation with an unbeaten 58-ball 88 before Dwayne Bravo led an excellent bowling display to power Chennai Super Kings to a crushing 20-run win over Mumbai Indians on Sunday. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
2/10:Unbeaten knock
<p>Gaikwad batted through the innings to lift Chennai Super Kings from a precarious 7/3 to 156/6. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
3/10:Valuable stand
<p>With the score reading 24/4, Gaikwad added 81 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to steady the ship. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
4/10:CSK's late flourish
<p>Gaikwad smashed nine fours and three sixes, while Bravo hit three maximums as CSK scored 112 runs in the back 10. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
5/10:Dhoni, Raina fail
<p>CSK lost four wickets in the power play, including the wickets of skipper Dhoni and Suresh Raina, as three top-order batsmen failed to open their accounts. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
6/10:The Bravo blast
<p>The late spark was provided by Bravo (23 off 8 balls) as CSK recovered from a disastrous start to put up a fighting total. (BCCI/ANI Photo)</p>
7/10:Mumbai's poor start
<p>Chasing 157 on a pitch where the ball often stopped on the batsmen, MI too were off to a poor start as they slipped to 37/3. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
8/10:Deepak double blow
<p>Both Quinton de Kock (17) and debutant Anmolpreet Singh (16) got out after getting starts, the bowler being pacer Deepak Chahar on both occasions. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
9/10:Mumbai 4 down
<p>Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan too made their way back to the dugout in quick succession to leave MI in a spot of bother at 58/4 in the 10th over. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>
10/10:Hazlewood scalps Pollard
<p>Saurabh Tiwary (50 not out) and stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard tried to forge a partnership before Josh Hazlewood had the big-hitting all-rounder from Trinidad trapped in front of the wicket. (BCCI/IPL Photo)</p>But when Jadeja was dismissed in the 17th over, 150 plus looked a bridge too far for CSK. But Ruturaj and Dwayne Bravo (23 off 8) gave CSK a late push.
Rohit not fit, Hardik may have been dropped: Rohit Sharma is nursing a niggle and that's why he missed the opener. Coach Mahela Jayawardene said it was more precautionary than anything else. But it wasn't clear why Hardik Pandya was not playing. There is a possibility that he is still not fit to bowl and that's why the management decided not to include him in the XI.
