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IPL 2021 | CSK vs RCB: What Experts said as Jadeja hands Chennai top spot

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MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings put a halt to Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore’s winning streak after thumping them by 69 runs in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing a stiff total of 193, RCB were restricted to 122/9 in 20 overs. 

RCB did have a decent start to the chase when Devdutt Padikkal and Kohli put up 44 runs for the first wicket, though majority of runs were scored by Padikkal during the course. 

The two stitched a stand of 44 before captain Kohli departed while trying to work a short ball, moving away from him through the covers off Sam Curran. 

The right-handed batsman just managed to edge the ball and Dhoni took an easy catch behind the stumps. Kohli’s departure was followed by a flurry of wickets in the middle, courtesy some brilliant piece of bowling and fielding from Ravindra Jadeja who had a gala time at Wankhede Stadium against RCB on Sunday. 

The left-arm spinner first scalped the wicket of Washington Sundar who came in at number three after inviting him to go for a glory hit on a length ball. Sundar went for the slog and took the aerial route trying to clear the fence over deep mid-wicket boundary but didn’t time his shot well and was caught by Ruturaj Gaikwad for 7 off 11. 

Jadeja followed Sundar’s wicket with Glenn Maxwell’s dismissal. With the kind of form that Maxwell has been in this IPL, he would have thoroughly dominated CSK bowling attack. 

But Dhoni played the perfect trump card and handed the ball to Jadeja when the Aussie batsman was in. The spinner totally deceived him and rattled the woodwork behind Maxwell to send him packing for 22 off 15.

The Indian all-rounder didn’t just stop here and was involved in a couple of more wickets. In the 10th over of the innings, AB de Villiers tried to rotate the strike after guiding a length ball towards the covers with soft hands and called for the run. Jadeja who was stationed inside the circle quickly ran towards the ball and threw it straight to the batting hitting the bull’s eye to see Dan Christian depart for just 1 run. 

The left-hander was not over yet. He probably scalped the wicket of one of the most important batsmen of the RCB line up, ABD. The former South Africa captain was beaten in the turn on a length ball that was pitched around the middle stump channel and went through to clean him up for 4 runs off 9 deliveries. Jadeja eventually returned with figures of 3/13 in 4 overs. 

Earlier, after winning the toss, CSK opted to bat first and had a solid start to the proceedings after Faf du Plessis and Gaikwad put 74 runs on the board for the first wicket. Gaikwad though departed for 33 but Du Plessis continued with his form to notch up yet another half-century in the competition. Suresh Raina who walked in at number three also chipped in with 24 off 18.

But the real drama was unleashed by Jadeja who smacked an unbeaten 62 off 28 that included five maximums and four boundaries in the process. The left-hander had a struggling start and took some time to get his eye in before unfolding an unforgettable knock. RCB paid the price for dropping him twice when he was on 1 and 2 respectively. 

Jadeja totally turned the course of the innings in the last over where he managed to gather 37 runs in six deliveries off Harshal Patel. The aggressive batsman began the over with four maximums including a free-hit. He then ran a couple and concluded the over with another six and a four. Patel who is the purple cap holder gave away 51 runs in 4 overs and took three wickets.  

Captains' corner

RCB seamer Harshal Patel had gone for 37 runs in the last over but captain Virat Kohli has said that the team management will continue to back him. "You have to look at it the right way. I feel this is a positive feedback for our side. A performance like this, it is good to get this out early on in the tournament. Our start was decent enough. One guy completely beat us. Today his skill was there for everyone to see. He (Harshal) bowled well and we will continue to back him," he said. 

Kohli lauded Jadeja for his all-round performance and said that he is pretty happy to see him perform with both bat and ball and in the field. 

"His (Jadeja) ability has been there for everyone to see. I am very happy to see him perform with the bat, ball and on the field. After two months, he will be back playing for India and it is always a pleasure to see your premier all-rounder do well with the bat. When he plays well and is confident, it lets out many opportunities," he added.

CSK captain MS Dhoni also praised Jaedja for his brilliant show and suggested that he is someone who has the ability to turn the game on its head alone.

 "He's (Jadeja) somebody who can change the game on his own and we have seen that significant change with the bat and in tj bowling as well. It's good to give him that extra opportunity, the extra few balls where he can express himself. It's also important that the individual grabs the chance when you take a decision like that and he's done that so far.” 

Talking about the bowling, Dhoni said that the bowlers have found it difficult to bowl against the left-handed batsmen with the slog.

“Also from a strategy point the bowler's have found it slightly more difficult to contain the left handed batsman with the slog. In that way it also helps us a bit. You can't predict the quantum of win. We were also pondering whether to bat or bowl first. Heat is also a factor here. We've played a lot of cricket here. Whether the groundsmen have time to prepare the wicket, it's still a good wicket," Dhoni said.

The former India captain further added that the track had something to offer to the spinners. "I felt the spinners had something up their sleeve if they bowled consistently in the right areas. You can play with the field and put extra pressure on the batsman. I felt that the extra few runs jadeja scored in the last over.. that really helps because we were looking to go close to a par score 160-170," he added. 

Experts' Views

Commentator Harsha Bhogle lavished praise on Jadeja and hailed him for the match-winning effort. 

Boria Majumdar had a small complaint from Jadeja. Boria missed Jadeja's sword dance but he too hailed the performance from the all-rounder. 

Majumdar praised the foundation laid by Faf and Suresh Raina in the beginning of the innings. While Faf completed his fifty, Raina was among some runs. 

CSK's Imran Tahir was invoked in a runout after he removed Kyle Jameison with a direct hit. Joy Bhattacharjya made a brilliant observation about the act. 

CSK for the first time in the history of IPL failed to make a place for themselves in the playoffs in the IPL 2020. Mentioning about the previous edition Bhattacharjya said that it seems that the MS Dhoni-led side would turn the fortunes for themselves in this season. 

Ben Jones applauded Jadeja for the kind of performance he had unleashed against RCB. Jones said that the left-handed cricketer had won the match for CSK single-handily. 


RCB will now face Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad on Tuesday while CSK will lock horns with Mumbai Indians in Delhi on Saturday. 



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