Dhoni gets Rashid at deep point

The importance of Rashid Khan’s dismissal even though the asking rate was very high was reflected in Stephen Fleming’s reaction: he jumped up from his seat and roared. If any batsman could have done it – 31 from 10 – on a sluggish pitch where all batsmen struggled to get the big hits going, it had to be Rashid, the unorthodox but splendidly skilled batsman. Not just a fascinating batsman to watch, but he can take any pitch out of the equation with his unique wrist-snapping game. He can snap that wrist and scythe his bat at awkward angles. Dhoni had the plan for him: bowl well outside off and have a deep squarish point in place. Tushar Deshpande hurled one well outside that Rashid let go, but it was legal. Next ball was well outside off, full and dipping, and Rashid had to go for it. He went with that slice-chop of his but found that deep point man who didn’t have to move an inch.

– Sriram Veera

Wry smile for the overstepping bowler

Hardik Pandya’s lovely wry smile said it all. And how quickly did he snap out and rush to his young pacer Darshan Nalkande who looked distressed that he had overstepped on the ball that got him the ‘wicket’ of Ruturaj Gaikwad. It curved away ever so gently from a length and Ruturaj was unusually stuck on his front foot, guiding it softly to a joyous Shubman Gill at midwicket. Even as the young Nalkande celebrated, pumping his fist, the no-ball signal went up. Hardik smiled, walked up to his young pacer, patted him on the back. Still no signs of any change of emotions in the pacer. Pandya walked all the way back to the top of the bowling mark, and we don’t know what was said with a smile, but Nalkande did break out into a pleasant smile. The next two balls would have erased a bit of that smile as they flew to the boundary but it was a promising start – from the pacer and from the captain.

– Sriram Veera

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 🙌@ChennaiIPL enter the #TATAIPL Final for a record 10th time! 🥳#TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #GTvCSK pic.twitter.com/f5nfAfMc7X

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 23, 2023

Gaikwad jumps on Rashid error

For the first four balls, though 2 two’s came – one to a squeezed out edge and other a tap to the on side, Rashid Khan had the upper hand on Ruturaj Gaikwad. In four balls, he had varied the pace, the extent and type of the break, and had Ruturaj groping a bit. The young opener was desperate to leap out of crease, and Rashid had him waiting with length and back of length stuff. One at pace, other slower. Then he made the mistake that Kuldeep Yadav would do the other day against Gaikwad. He too had troubled Gaikwad for first two overs, before he started bowling fuller and got hit for 3 sixes. This time Rashid tried a fuller one, not too overpitched, but full enough for Gaikwad to stretch forward and blast-drive it to cover boundary. It’s a shot he plays well, and the spinners who have stayed away from that arc, with lot of skill, have prospered. Rashid vs Gaikwad offers to be a fascinating battle.

– Sriram Veera

Conway struggling to break away

Devon Conway hasn’t been able to break away just yet. Perhaps, the clue lies in the balls he has mishit and miscued. Whenever he has tried to go too hard at the ball, it hasn’t come off. And when he has played the line, manouvered the ball – be it against pace of spin, he has been successful. Too early to say whether it’s due to pitch or if he is going too hard and losing his shape. He is a very good professional who has made huge strides in Test cricket and shouldn’t be a surprise if he makes a course correction soon.

– Sriram Veera

The perfect googly

The strapping big hitter of slow bowlers Shivam Dube was taken down by the left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad with a fabulous googly. It ticked all the purist boxes: flight, loop, dip, sharp turn. He tossed it up courageously and Dube went for the big hit, opening his shoulders and aiming for the Marina beach, but the ball broke with fizz from outside off to thread the bat and pad gap, cuing applause from a smiling Pandya.In his four overs, Ahmad gave away just 29.

– Sriram Veera

Snatching the momentum back, the Chennai Super Kings way 😎

Recap the two BIG dismissals of Miller and Gill that brought #CSK back in the contest 👊🏻#TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #GTvCSK pic.twitter.com/DQnTz6vSBi

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 23, 2023

Sigh of relief dismissal

Ruturaj Gaikwad let out a scream of anguish. The moment his intended pull hit him high on the bat and the ball ballooned in the air, he knew his fate. Though the spider-cam seemed to distract the fielder David Miller, his focus did not waver and he pocketed the catch without much ado. Rashid Khan too ran from long-on and stared agitatedly at the cam that would have offered the batsman a let off after a no-ball dismissal in the first over, and breathed a sigh of relief. Hardik Pandya folded his hands and thanked Miller. The celebrations were quiet, a few tired hugs and handshakes rather than adrenaline-fueled high fives. For Gaikwad had already wreaked enough havoc, providing Chennai Super Kings a rollicking start and taking out precious overs of Rashid Khan quite early. Maybe, Titans were exhausted and just wanted to see the back of their tormentor Hence it was more relief than joy.

– Sandip G

Jinx gone quiet

For a moment when he unfurled that signature pick-up shot to a length delivery on the middle and leg over midwicket, Ajinkya Rahane fans might have felt this was his day. After a great start to the tournament, he has gone quiet ever since he was selected to the Indian team – a combination of lack of chances and knocks like this that promise, but end. The very next ball after the six, Rahane guided a ball on the off stump straight to Shubman Gill at backward point, and stood there frozen for a while.

– Sriram Veera

No one’s got a read on Shami

Mohammad Shami has been cracking good this IPL. It has been with white ball, but it could have well been with the red for such has been his wondrous style so far. In his two overs with the new ball, he hit the back of length with the combination of heavy ball and little-shapers this way and that. The ball rushes straight from his hand with no hint about the destination for the batsmen to pick. No cheap dramatic but too early swing. No angled release that can telegraph the seaming destination. Not even a visible finger-position that any batsmen with acutely-aware hawk-like vision can spot. Fingers stay on the seam until the last minute, laid out pretty straight, and most times, even the seaming ball, he releases like a swing-bowler – the finger not necessarily cutting across the seam of the ball but ripping down on the seam on the back of the ball with his back-spin deliveries. Resultantly, no one has been able to really dominate him. It would take someone to throw the caution to wind and charge out and try a couple of slogs.

– Sriram Veera

Nehra’s boundary line antics

Ashish Nehra could be the Pep Guardiola of the IPL, in his irrepressible energy near the boundary ropes. Nehra, his cap upturned like a baseballer, could always be spotted reacting to actions in the middle, almost rendering a commentary through gestures. He is throwing arms in disgust at one moment when Wriddhiman Saha could not cling onto an outside-edged catch of Devon Conway, though he dived at full-stretch to his lift. He was clapping madly at a gorgeous cover-drive by Ruturaj Gaikwad. He would scream, yell, applaud, appreciate, cheer and wildly gesticulate at his bowlers and fielders. When they are fielding beside the ropes, he is always whispering something in their ears. So animated and involved that you would think he would leap over the line and start bowling himself. Once, when asked about touchline antics, Guardiola, who had served bans in Bundesliga for over-zealous behaviour, had quipped: “Do you expect me to be like a statue?” Won’t be surprised if Nehra repeats a similar line.

– Sandip G

Here’s how Ravindra Jadeja scalped his 150th IPL Wicket 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #GTvCSK | @imjadeja https://t.co/fZH3Ggfdml pic.twitter.com/L5LuVoBuKn

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 23, 2023

Rashid course corrects quickly

Perhaps barring Eoin Morgan, with his plucky inventiveness, Shane Watson with his murderous slog-sweeps, and Shubman Gill with his high-quality attacking game against spin, there haven’t been many batsmen who have dominated Rashid Khan on their day. CSK too couldn’t find anyone who could do that on Tuesday night. He made couple of errors of length but both times how quickly did he course correct. First was fullish on length to Ruturaj Gaikwad that was slammed to cover boundary. Then, a shortish googly was walloped over midwicket boundary by Ambati Rayudu. Next ball was really full, and forcing Rayudu to miscue his slog-sweep to long-on. Rashid stood there, and as is his wont, kept clapping.

– Sriram Veera

Skills for a slow(ish) pitch

No dew, Mohit Sharma would say at the end of CSK’s innings and if that stays that way in the chase, then Gujarat Titans would have to be skilful on a slow(ish) pitch. The pacers are going to deal in lots of cutters and of course the challenge from the spinners. Dhoni even moved up to the stumps in the third over to Shubman Gill, but the line from Chahar was down leg and Gill caressed it up and over backward square-leg for the first six of the chase. Next ball was again on the hips, slower, and Gill mistimed the pull for a single. Wriddhiman Saha’s response would be interesting to track. An effort to hit on the up almost ended up tamely at mid-off. Gill has been constantly talking to him. Will Saha be the one to go for it, but he can’t rely on his usual on-the-up through-the-line shots. He pulled the fifth ball to the midwicket boundary but found the man at long-leg with another attempt to pull a back of length delivery of the final ball. And Chahar would wiggle his index finger in air with a smile.

– Sriram Veera

Nothing subcontinental in Gill’s flick

Maybe, it was a ruse. MS Dhoni standing up to Deepak Chahar, and the latter slipping down the leg-side. Perhaps, Gill could over-balance and take the back leg off the crease, and Dhoni could stump. Maybe, he genuinely lost his line. Whatever the case be, Gill flicked the ball for a six. The defining feature of the flick was how non-wristy he was. Most subcontinental batsmen would twirl the wrists prominently, the wrists often tracing a mini circle in the air. But his wrists were almost straight, till it broke away almost after he had played the shot, making it look like a short-arm flick rather than the classical Oriental one with wrists that whirl. And Gill, in such sublime form, is too mature for such tricks.

– Sandip G

Dhoni moves field; Hardik cut doesn’t click

As soon as Hardik Pandya indicated his batting style against Theekshana in the 6th over – he was going to be moving outside leg and timing his punches through the off-side, MS Dhoni made his change. He brought the square-leg fielder and moved to the covers where the previous shot had gone for a dot ball. That arc was now packed. Hardik moved outside leg again, but this one squirted from back of length and Hardik went for the cut, and edged it to backward point. It wasn’t because of the packed cover that he went there (though Dhoni fans will be surely claiming this wicket was Thala’s) as the ball was indeed short and had to be hit square, but perhaps the cut shot wasn’t ideal. An open-bat face timed punch into the gaps would have been better. But Hardik does play that cut shot like a whipped chop and usually gets it well, but not quite ideal perhaps on this pitch.

– Sriram Veera

Theekshana’s joyous wicket celebration

Maheesh Theekshana’s joy knew no bounds when he dismissed Hardik Pandya. The wicket-ball was nothing supernatural, it was a gift rather—shortish and wide outside the off-stump, which Pandya cut with a dilemma whether to hit in the air or along the ground. He chose the aerial route, though without much power or placement, to Ravindra Jadeja at point. Theekshana beat the crest on his chest passionately, jumped and sprinted with clenched fists and even threatened to produce an arrow-and-bow act, before he changed his mind and decided to punch the turf instead. In the end, it took a tap of his shoulder by MS Dhoni to calm the Sri Lankan down.

– Sandip G

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1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ UP 😎

Ravindra Jadeja completes 150 IPL wickets 👏🏻👏🏻 #TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #GTvCSK | @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/LQODvlIUWv

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 23, 2023

First goes Miller, then goes Gill

Shubman Gill’s face was one to be seen when David Miller fell, bowled off the pads by Ravindra Jadeja. He had gone for a walking drive, but the ball turned past the blade, hit his pad and fell on the stumps. Dhoni was vociferous with glee, so was Jadeja and Miller was understandably upset. But Gill’s face tightened, he threw his head back a bit and sighed. And looked here and there with a sense of glumness, if that’s the word to use. It’s now up to him as the sluggish pitch is likely to prove difficult for any new batsman. But Gill would fall next over to Deepak Chahar, going for the pull but unable to clear deep backward square leg. This time Dhoni was more sombre in his celebration, just clapping gently as he looked at Chahar, who was in his own world, hands up, back arched back, blowing kisses to the sky and soaking in the moment. As for Gill, he had that same glumness still plastered on the face as he walked out.

– Sriram Veera

Carrom ball gets Tewatia

The archer Theekshana took aim and knocked down Rahul Tewatia. With his Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka who played him well, walloping couple of boundaries before throwing his wicket away to Ravindra Jadeja, out of his way, Theekshana started to squeeze in claustrophobia into the chase. The carrom ball spitting this way and that had Tewatia go for a slog of a reverse sweep, which he nearly got away to the boundary. But Theekshana bounced back with a sharp incoming carrom that burst through the defences of Tewatia. And Theekshana would pull out of the imaginary arrow from his quiver and fire it in celebration. A lovely shrug of a smile spread across Tewatia’s visage – a ‘that was too good for me’ kind of a look. And it was.

– Sriram Veera

Vision of a gully-cricketer and skills of an international

Rashid Khan is probably the most unique batsman out there. Wonderfully wristy with a vision of a gully-cricketer and skills of an international, he combines both to fascinating results. In BBL, his batting clips often go viral; the way he snaps his wrists and pulls off amazing angles. A bit like Harbhajan Singh, but way with more snappier rubber-wrist and an ambition to get even more zanier. In one of his batting video at the nets he posted couple of years ago, he successfully sent a full ball between his legs! On Tuesday night, he swatted Pathirana’s yorker to deep midwicket for couple and then stood tall to flat-bat a short ball over extra cover for a six.

– Sriram Veera

Gaikwad takes a scorcher

A father in the stands put his hand gently on his son to stop him from celebrating as the umpires referred the catch by Ruturaj Gaikwad upstairs. The son stopped, and looked up at the big screen. So did the entire crowd. Vijay Shankar had whipped a full ball in the 18th over towards deep midwicket but it seemed it would fall short. But out rushed Gaikwad and he had to throw himself fully forward and yet managed to clasp his fingers around the ball. The TV umpire was quick to say, ‘I can see his fingers under the ball’ and gave his verdict without asking for a zoomer. The boy, one presumes is dancing in the aisles, still.

– Sriram Veera