The message was clear from Chennai – write us off at your peril. After making a dreadful start which saw them lose four wickets in the powerplay, the three-time winners turned the tables to beat Mumbai by 20 runs in the opening match of the Indian T20 League 2021 UAE leg.
Ruturaj Gaikwad struck an unbeaten 88, while the bowlers shared seven wickets between them. Mumbai, who had to leave out Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya due to injuries, lost wickets at regular intervals during the run chase. The likes of Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, etc., couldn’t come up with a big knock. However, Saurabh Tiwary, Mumbai’s lone bright spark in the batting department – hit his first fifty in Indian T20 League since the 2017 season.
Milne, Boult wreck Chennai top-order
Chennai fans watched in disbelief as their team, choosing to bat first, lost four wickets with just 24 on the board. In-form overseas batters Faf du Plessis and Moeen Ali didn’t trouble the scorers. Ambati Rayudu had to retire hurt due to an elbow injury. Meanwhile, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni tried to put the pressure back on Milne and Boult but had to make the long walk back to the pavilion. The three-time winners were effectively five down.
The rescue act
Gaikwad made a name for himself after scoring three successive half-centuries in the fag end of Chennai’s disastrous Indian T20 League 2020 campaign. Despite scoring just 20 runs in the first three matches of the new season, Chennai head coach Stephen Fleming backed the 24-year-old to come good. He did deliver, scoring fifties against Kolkata and Hyderabad.
The Pune-born batsman faced a stern test at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Gaikwad joined hands with Ravindra Jadeja, and the duo added 81 runs for the sixth wicket. They were watchful against the seamers but targeted the slow bowlers. Gaikwad, dropped on 19 by De Kock, brought up his sixth half-century. Jadeja fell for a well-made 26 in the 17th over.
Bravo and Gaikwad spoiled Boult’s figures after scoring 24 off his final over. The West Indies all-rounder hit back-to-back sixes and Gaikwad, too, took Boult to the cleaners. Jasprit Bumrah leaked 15 runs in the 20th over as Chennai made a splendid recovery to post a challenging 156/6.
Chahar’s first spell
De Kock and debutant Anmolpreet Singh opened the batting for Mumbai. The South African, who scored back-to-back fifties in Sri Lanka, welcomed Josh Hazlewood with two boundaries. However, Chahar trapped De Kock in front of the stumps. On-field umpire Richard Illingworth gave not out, but Chennai successfully overturned the LBW decision.
Anmolpreet looked in excellent touch when he played a few delightful strokes in Hazlewood’s second over. The 23-year-old hit two cracking boundaries and a six. Chahar struck again and sent Anmolpreet back to the dressing room. He missed a slow delivery, which crashed into the stumps.
Bowlers dominate
After losing their openers, Mumbai pinned their hopes on Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan, who both combined scored 996 runs in UAE last season. Du Plessis showed his fielding prowess with an excellent catch to dismiss Suryakumar, who played a loose shot off Shardul Thakur’s bowling. Bravo picked up a wicket in his second ball when Kishan hammered a wide delivery straight into the hands of Raina.
Mumbai stand-in skipper Pollard and left-handed Tiwary led the recovery. Meanwhile, the asking rate climbed to ten runs per over. Hazlewood, who conceded 26 runs in his first two overs, returned and grabbed the crucial wicket of Pollard. Nine balls later, Krunal Pandya ran himself out, leaving Mumbai needing 60 off five overs.
Bravo and Hazlewood kept it tight in the next two overs. The game drifted away from the Mumbai outfit, and they succumbed to a 20-run defeat. Tiwary remained unbeaten on 50. Two wickets in the final over of the match helped Bravo finish with figures of 3/25 in four overs. Chennai climbed to the top of the table after picking up their sixth win. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and co remain fourth.
Bravo the game-changer
Gaikwad deservingly won the player of the match in the UAE leg opener. But Bravo, recently became the second cricketer to play 500 T20 games, made valuable contributions with bat and ball in the match. The 37-year-old’s quickfire 23* helped Chennai seize the momentum at the halfway point of the fixture. He made it hard for the Mumbai batsmen with his slower balls. Kishan fell into a perfectly laid trap by the all-rounder, who is third in the all-time highest wicket-takers in the tournament.
Chennai 156/6 in 20 overs (R Gaikwad 88*, R Jadeja 26; A Milne 2/21, J Bumrah 2/33, T Boult 2/35)
Mumbai 136/8 in 20 overs (S Tiwary 50*, Q de Kock 17; D Bravo 3/25, D Chahar 2/19)
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
Read All Articles >
