IPL 2020: Shane Watson credits MS Dhoni, Fleming for backing the players

IPL 2020: Youngsters in our side, it's an oxymoron, says Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings proved critics wrong and lifted the title for the third time in the 2018 season of the Indian Premier League. There were question marks over players’ fitness and age being on the other side of the 30s. This time around, MS Dhoni’s men have found the going tough and the familiar questions are being raised yet again. Chennai came back from a 3-match losing streak to beat Kings XI Punjab in an emphatic fashion. Openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson remained unbeaten to mark a 10-wicket win. During the match, former India cricketer Anjum Chopra asked Fleming about youngsters like Sam Curran in the side.. The coach had a cheeky reply as he said that youngsters in the side, it’s an oxymoron. Chennai were sharp with the ball as well. Seamer Shardul Thakur snaffled hard-hitter Nicholas Pooran and in-form KL Rahul in successive deliveries to slow down the flow of runs. KXIP could only manage to score 178 runs, which turned out to be way too less for their liking. Rahul’s side are currently at the bottom, having won mere one game out of five. On the other hand, the Super Kings have moved up to the sixth spot in the points table.

IPL 2020 | CSK vs KXIP: 3 Reasons Why Faf & Watson-led Chennai uproot KL Rahul's Punjab

The Chennai Super Kings got their campaign back on track winning their second game of the season on Sunday, 4 October, after three consecutive losses in the Indian Premier League 2020. Last year’s finalists chased down the 179-run target by 10 wickets and 14 balls remaining, with both Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson plummeting the Kings XI Punjab bowling to all parts of the ground. Both teams came into the clash in horrible form and needed to get crucial momentum in the bottom of the table clash. While KXIP chose to shake things up making three changes to their playing XI, while CSK decided to keep their last match’s team intact. And CSK’s backing of their old horses was rewarded in emphatic fashion with the pair sharing the second-highest opening stand in the IPL history. The KXIP bowlers barely threatened the batsmen in their worst performance in the IPL this season and as a result, now lurk at the bottom of the table searching for inspiration to get out of the mess they have created for themselves. On that note here are the three reasons why the Chennai Super Kings won against KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab. Watson-Faf Partnership You cannot do much if two stalwarts of white-ball cricket put their foot down and decide that nothing can dominate them tonight. An innings from Shane Watson was long overdue, but very few would have thought that Watson would pull off an amazing 83 off 53 balls laced with 11 fours and 3 humongous sixes tonight. Ably supported by Faf du Plessis, both the batsmen raced each other in their 181 run stand and it was quite evident throughout the innings that there has been a change of approach and intent. Speaking after the game Watson said, I felt like something that been slightly off, technically. So it was nice for it to come off. Just a combination of technique and intent. Was able to get the weight through the ball a lot better. We do complement each other well. There are bowlers he [Faf] prefers to take on and he's a great guy and good batting with him. With so much experience and success the franchise have had, they believe in the players. We just knew we had to do a few things better. It came together. “ Shardul Thakur The Kings XI Punjab had everything under control till the 17th over in the first innings. Batting first in the game, Punjab were poised at 152/2 at the end of the 17th over with KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran preparing for the final flourish after the exquisite show of timing and composure. Pooran especially batting at 33 off 16 deliveries was looking to take the game away from the opposition. And then came Shardul Thakur in the 18th and in his first two deliveries removed both Pooran and Rahul. His first ball, a juicy half volley on the leg stump was hit so high by Nicholas Pooran that it probably brought some cloud back with it in his return to the Dubai International Stadium. While that took quite some time to happen, Jadeja set himself up on the deep square-leg boundary to take an exceptional catch under the tough lighting conditions at Dubai. Right after Pooran departed, Shardul in his next delivery sent KL packing to get him caught behind the wicket. His figures might not have been kind, but that halted the momentum and KXIP only scored 26 runs after that. KXIP team selection KXIP decided to shake things up after their consecutive losses against Rajasthan and Mumbai. While the Rajasthan loss can be attributed to Rahul Tewatia’s blinder of an innings, against Mumbai they lost comprehensively, and at the heart of it was James Neesham. Making three changes to the team, KXIP got in Mandeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, and Chris Jordan in place of Karun Nair, K Gowtham, and Neesham. Yet again, quite perplexingly they sat out Mujeeb Ur Rahman, one of the best T20 bowlers in the world. At the end of the game Jordan had miserable figures of 0/42 in three overs and nobody in KXIP bothered the CSK openers enough to take wickets. Punjab have difficult clashes ahead of them in Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders who are a much better batting unit than Chennai and they have to figure out a balance in their squad which allows them to get the best out of their team. Chennai Super Kings after tonight’s victory will hope that the squad is pumped enough to stage a turnaround. They have done it before and, in theory, plainly in theory, there is no reason why they cannot keep building on this performance. Chennai have a relatively lighter week, with KKR on 7th and RCB on 10th of this month and that should give MS Dhoni enough time to get his side revitalised and build their momentum in this tournament.

IPL 2020 | CSK vs KXIP: Faf-Watson buoyed CSK ride roughshod over KXIP to end losing streak

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings (Faf du Plessis 87*, Shane Watson 83*; Ravi Bishnoi 0/33) beat Kings XI Punjab 178/4 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 63, Nicholas Pooran 33; Shardul Thakur 2/39) by 10 wickets. Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis rolled back the years to conjure a chasing masterclass as Chennai Super Kings made a mockery of Kings XI Punjab's 179-run target, fighting redemption after three consecutive drubbings in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League. Their awe-inspiring 181-run stand- the second-best opening partnership in a 10-wicket win in IPL history- steadied CSK's sinking ship in the tournament as they climb two places higher in the points table on Sunday, October 4 at Dubai. Faf-Watson prove old is gold Shane Watson looked a chip off the old block tonight, glancing Sheldon Cottrell to open his account before unleashing from his repertoire those signature aerial lofts. Faf du Plessis too mauled a quadruple of boundaries in Chris Jordan's introductory over to propel CSK to their highest score of 60 for zero in mandatory field restrictions. Skipper Rahul blew a gasket, not just because of the penalizing his troops were being subjected to but also the fact that their groundwork levels dipped on a couple of occasions. Such was the harmony in operation from CSK's stalwarts that they aggregated their respective half-centuries within the same over. Despite anything and everything blazing from the sweet spot, the Faf-Watson duo abstained from overindulgence and showed tremendous composure to guide CSK home without breaking a sweat. KXIP fine-tune their squad balance KXIP eventually ran out of patience with liability Karun Nair and plugged the middle-order loophole by bringing in the raw firepower of Mandeep Singh. Harpreet Singh Brar and Chris Jordan were other deputies employed to resolve the chinks in their bowling armour. Punjab lay a rigid foundation The current orange-cap holder, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal bolted along with their modus operandi of axing unnecessary glamour and relying on textbook cricketing shots. Six mellow boundaries embellished the PowerPlay jamboree as KXIP tucked a healthy 46 for no loss on the scoreboard. A shrewd bowling change from talisman MS Dhoni reaped huge dividends as Piyush Chawla beguiled Agarwal into a frail swipe very first delivery. Singh assumed his designated role of an enabler to perfection during his stroke-filled 27 before nailing Ravindra Jadeja's half-volley straight down cover's throat. Chennai stage mini-recovery after Pooran-Rahul flutter Having played second fiddle till Mayank and Singh dominated proceedings, Rahul switched gears within a jiffy, taking apart Shardul Thakur for 16 to notch his second fifty of the season. He found an able ally in Nicholas Pooran, who's six-studded 33 jerked KXIP into pole position. Just when it seemed like the glove-punching marauders would bully CSK out of the contest, Thakur wrestled back the advantage with two consecutive scalps. While Pooran skewed a knuckleball to be caught adeptly by Jadeja at deep square leg, Rahul feathered behind in an approach to steer a wide yorker. For all of their agricultural heaves and reverse paddle scoops, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Glenn Maxwell struggled to apply the finishing touches as KXIP left a dozen or more runs on the plate. Not that it would have mattered a great deal anyway. What's next in store? Having reverted to type after three soul-crushing defeats, Chennai Super Kings will aspire to carry the momentum in their next battle against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, October 7. Now languishing on the rock bottom of the points table, Kings XI Punjab have repeatedly been let down by their mediocre bowling unit. They would do well to pluck a leaf out of virtuoso Sunrisers Hyderabad's book, whom they lock horns with on Thursday, October 8 in Dubai.

IPL 2020 | CSK vs KXIP: What experts said as Super Kings thrash Kings XI mercilessly to announce their comeback

For the first time in the entire Indian Premier League season 2020, Chennai Super Kings looked like the team that people have known over the years. The bowling was brilliant as they restricted a batting heavy Kings XI Punjab to just 178 on a batting wicket in Dubai. Then came the icing on the cake as the opening duo of Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis mounted an unbeaten partnership of 181 runs to give the Punjab team the biggest thrashing of a 10 wicket loss. This 181 run stand between the two veterans is also the second-highest partnership in a successful chase in the IPL, falling behind Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn by just 3 runs. The Kings had started the game in a familiar fashion as their openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal scored 61 off 8 overs and just as they were thinking to accelerate, Agarwal was dismissed by a Pixyish Chawala flight. From there on, Rahul tired to build momentum with Nicholas Pooran. But losing two quick wickets that too of both the set batsmen in the 18th over meant that they failed to fully accelerate and ended up at 178, which could have easily been more than 190. Shardul Thakur did the damage by picking up both the wickets. Captains’ viewpoints: Reacting to the game, MS Dhoni the winning captain after three losses on a trot looked cheerful in the post-match presentation and said that the team was finally able to execute the plans after all. “Did the small things right and believed in the process. [We] were looking for the kind of start today. That's where experience counts. It's not about being more aggressive,” he said. Lauding his batsmen in the experienced duo of Watson and du Plessis, Dhoni said, “Watson was looking good in the nets. But what you want is to replicate that. It was just a matter of time that he gets going. Faf is like a sheet anchor for us. He can always confuse the bowlers with shots like the lap shot.” “They complement each other well,” he added. The 39-year-old then chose to show his respect t6owards his long-time ally and coach Stephen Fleming saying that he doesn’t get the credit he fully deserves. “Fleming doesn't get the kind of recognition he should. The good thing between us is that we decide each and everything between us. It's not like we don't have debates over selections. But it stays between us.” Skipper also praised the bowlers for standing up to the task and bowling in the right channels to execute the plans. “Felt the bowlers did a very good job. Felt we bowled according to what our plan was. Momentum with the right kind of shots - I felt Watto and Faf backed themselves to play the shots they're known for. It was very good to watch them out there.” On the other hand, KL Rahul looked frustrated after three losses on a trot. “It's hard being on the losing side for so many games on the trot. We need to come back harder and better,” he said. The Karnataka batsman accepted the mistakes of his team saying that they are going wrong at executing their task. “There's no rocket science where we are going wrong, it's the execution,” he said. “When we started batting, the wicket did stop a bit and when the spinners came in there was some grip and turn,” Rahul further explained as to why his team was unable to have the fireworks they are known for in batting. Rahul also reasoned saying that getting the wickets of the openers was important. “If we don't get wickets of the class of Watson and du Plessis, we are in trouble. It's a bit hard to attack as a captain when they are going at 10 runs an over in the powerplay,” said the 28-year-old. “They are all professional players, so we can expect them to come back better. We need to keep training harder, practicing, and try to win the key moments in the game. Hopefully, we'll be able to bounce back,” Rahul concluded with a hope to turn around the team’s fortunes in the upcoming games. Expert Opinion: Experts were divided on the opinion as to whether it was the brilliance of CSK or the fact that KXIP lack the talent to defend totals. Expressing his views upon the emphatic Chennai win, Veteran Sports Journalist Joy Bhattacharjya called all those who wrote Chennai off after the initial games as 'novice' claiming that CSK downfall reports were nothing but a mere exaggeration. Harsha Bhogle, one of the most known faces in the cricket broadcast industry said that it isn't the end of the road for the losing team Kings XI and was hopeful that with the kind of resources they have, they can bounce back. Senior Journalist Gaurav Kalra was once again at his 'witty' best and called the victory of CSK as the best tactics applied by the team so far, saying that as openers would lessen the burden on the team, it would hardly matter who was batting at which order. Senior TV journalist, Vikrant Gupta pointed out why it was the best time for both CSK and Watson to finally return to form. Joy Bhattacharjya also raised an important question saying that while Leggies are allowed to bowl with such weird runups (pointing to Ravi Bishnoi), how would the batsman fare while batting it. To this, Lisa Sthalekar, former Australian women's team member assured him by replying to his Tweet that batsmen will adapt and find a solution as they have always done.