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IPL 2021 | Qualifier-1 | What Experts said as Dhoni-Uthappa turn the clock back to take Super Kings to final

It was vintage MS Dhoni and Robin Uthappa at the display as they turned the clock back and won Chennai Super Kings a game that looked surreal in all aspects and aesthetics. The match had all the things needed for someone like Dhoni to come and finish it in style. 

There was drama in the middle, an early breakthrough, a hero of yesteryears showing his class and finally the finish that everyone craved for, that moment when all could say in unison, ‘Dhoni finishes it in style’. People waited for this entire IPL, but as he has been unpredictable yet very elegant with his surprise, Mahi pulled out his best in the match that mattered the most. 

As Super Kings chased down 173 with two balls to spare, they also made it to their record ninth final in 14 editions of the tournament, out of which they were absent for two seasons. 

Captains' Viewpoints 

MS Dhoni, the winning skipper looked very relieved after his efforts which finally bore fruit after many attempts. Describing his knock, the 40-year-old in the post-match presentation said, “It was a crucial innings, Delhi has a very good bowling attack and with big boundaries to contend with, they bowled really well. I've not done a lot this season so today I was just trying to watch the ball and hit it.”

When the skipper walked in to bat ahead of in form Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, his team needed 23 off 11 balls and when he walked out, having scored unbeaten 18 off just six balls, two balls still remained in the innings. While his intervention turned out to be great and satisfying, sending Shardul Thakur at number four looked very absurd. 

Explaining that, Dhoni said, “We haven't really experimented with our batting order. The thinking behind Thakur's promotion was if he clicks, he'll make it easier for us. [But it]Didn't happen that way.”

Robin Uthappa was yet another batter who looked in his vintage form. When he played in place of Suresh Raina in the last two games, it was thought that as a temporary measure to give Raina some time off before the big game. But when he was named in the playing XI even for this game, many loyal Super Kings questioned the decision. 

However, the 35-year-old proved everybody wrong and scored a brilliant 63 off 44 balls, attacking Delhi bowlers and giving Ruturaj Gaikwad time to construct his innings. Talking about sending Uthappa up the order, Dhoni said, “Robbie likes to bat up the order, we leave it to God to decide who goes at 3. If the openers bat well, it's Moeen [Ali], if not, it's Robin.”

Chennai were ruled out of the last year’s tournament sat at number seven, their lowest ever position in an IPL season. Now that they have reached the final, their Jharkhand born leader thanked everyone involved in the team’s journey from there to here.  

“Emotions were quite high after we didn't qualify last season, credit goes to the support staff and the individuals' character,” Dhoni said. 

Rishabh Pant, the losing captain in this game couldn’t believe his luck and said that the only way out from this loss was to get better and make the final in the second qualifier. 

"Obviously it's very disappointing, don't have enough words to describe how we are feeling right now. The only thing we can do is rectify our mistakes and move on to the next one,” Pant said in the post-match interview. 

It was a matter of concern and heavy debate as to why Tom Curran was given the 20th over instead of Kagiso Rabada who had bowled well too. Answering that, the 24-year-old said, “I thought that Tom bowled beautifully throughout the match, last over unfortunately went for runs. I thought the bowler who is having a great day, it's better to use him for the last over.” 

Tom was indeed having a great day until the last over as he had given away only 16 runs in his previous three overs and taken three wickets too. 

Talking about where his team lost the plot, Pant said, “I thought the score was decent but they got off to a flier in the powerplay and we didn't get enough wickets and that was the main difference.”

Expert Opinion

While captains had very different notions on the happenings of the game, Experts were also cast their verdict on key moments.

Boria Majumdar, a veteran cricket journalist asked the same question to Pant as to why he did not bowl Kagiso Rabad on to the best death bowlers in the death itself. 

Hasha Bhogle, a renowned commentator on the other hand was awed by the witty charm and honestness of Dhoni who admitted to the shortcomings he has had this season. 

Aakash Chopra, the former India player turned commentator and cricket pundit reiterated how Chennai have been the team to beat for several years now, as far as Playoffs and playing in final is concerned. 

Former India player Wasim Jaffer was at his witty best as always and compared Uthappa to bring out the Batman analogy into play. 

Senior journalist Ayaz Memon was infuriated by the way Chennai Super Kings lost their three wickets in the span of six runs and complicated the chase which was going pretty smooth by then. 

Winning this match, the CSK would now remain in Dubai and wait for the finalists. Delhi Capitals would now have to go to Sharjah to face the winner of the Eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Qualifier 1: Hits & Flops as Super Kings ride on 'Mahi wave' to reach another IPL final

For most of the sides in the Indian Premier League, the best and most in-form batsmen struggle to replicate their exploits in the league stage may be due to pressure of high stake games, but it’s more or less completely opposite for the Chennai Super Kings, who became the only side to get into the final on nine occasions. If Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson were the ones, who won them the first qualifier and final in their last successful season in 2018, it was Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni himself in the first qualifier this year to lead them into another IPL final. Both of these men were muted members of a resurgent Super Kings side in this season and they could not have picked a better game to resemble their best days in the IPL. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant and his Capitals side showed all signs of an immature side that could not rise to the occasion when pressure was well and truly on them. They were made to look ordinary in both decision-making and execution by the Super Kings side which did nothing too much more than capitalising on their nervousness and inability to handle pressure. Here, we’ll analyse the best and the worst performance of the first qualifier of the 14th edition of IPL between the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings Hits MS Dhoni For whatever it was worth, the return and redemption of the Super Kings were not complete till they reached the final of an IPL season and MS Dhoni did not hit the winning runs of a crucial game. Let’s accept the fact that has already been established for so many years and more so after his unceremonious exit from international cricket that MS Dhoni, the maverick talisman with the bat, has finished. Now, contextualise him smashing the Delhi bowlers all around the park with brute force that resembled his heydays and turned the clock back to his glorious past, to feel the enormous sense of enthusiasm for his fans and the teammates. No wonder, Suresh Raina and Deepak Chahar were happier than he himself would have been on the field when he was playing around with the mind of Tom Curran and the emotions of Rishabh Pant. When he walked out to bat after the fall of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 19th over, there must have been apprehensions about him coming ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. After all, Jadeja has been in form of his life with the bat and Dhoni has been struggling to force the ball off the square. However, like all the days and years of his playing career, the critics and doubters were never aware of the script that were to unfold. Avesh Khan committed the mistake of being predictable to Dhoni and produced a slower short of length delivery. Putting all the doubts of his power to get the big shot going, Dhoni muscled that slower ball over square leg to announce his intention and showcase his execution. Meanwhile, it was soon followed by the departure of another relatively set batsman in Moeen Ali as the Super Kings started falling off the clip in search of a surging required rate. Moeen’s wicket left the men in yellow to score 13 runs off the last five balls if they wanted to wait for the other teams to be their opponent in the big final. Curran repeated the same mistake that Avesh committed and could not offer him something unexpected. Another slow ball was thumped over cover for four and the Super Kings were in with a great chance. There was no end to Curran’s misery in the over as he clearly appeared to be bogged down by the stake of the situation. He was unlucky on another slow ball as Dhoni could not reach out to it fully but the night was his and hence an inside edge flew past Pant to fine leg boundary. Now, the equation was simple and Dhoni could afford to breathe a little easy. Curran was probably breathing more heavily and he offered another slower short ball and with no square leg in place, it was an open invitation for him to smash it to the fence and take the Super Kings to their ninth final in the history of the league. When pressed on to discuss his batting by Harsha Bhogle, Dhoni said that he just followed the principle of “see the ball, hit the ball”, and his fans would readily believe it was so simple as it was his words, and about his own batting and true believers of Dhoni know how simple he makes the game look like. Robin Uthappa If Murali Vijay on the night of the final in the 2011 edition, Shane Watson in the finals of the 2018 and 2019 edition and Faf du Plessis in the first qualifier of the 2018 edition were the batsmen who woke up from the slumber on big occasions to hand the Super Kings strategic and historic wins, Robin Uthappa certainly has become that trump card for them in this edition. Brought into the side in place of Suresh Raina, who is one of the all-time greats of the Indian Premier League, there was always a tough boot to fill and big expectations to meet for the batsman who has not had any sort of momentum and form with the bat in the last few seasons. But, what good is long rope if your selection is not annoying your critics and his selection in the playing XI for the first qualifier also irked many fans of Super Kings. Little perturbed to the “outside noise”, Uthappa started his innings on a fluent note that was characteristics of his fluent best when he and Gautam Gambhir used to rule the show for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. He was on the front foot to a rapid ball from Anrich Nortje and placed it immaculately to announce his arrival and never looked back from that stage. On the other hand, Avesh was getting good bounce and was not allowing Gaikwad to free his hands until he came up against Uthappa, who glided his short of length delivery casually to third man boundary for four. That was not the only attack on Avesh by Uthappa as his next over saw the right-hander at his versatile best. The second and third deliveries of his next over were despatched for six and four in as easier a way as one could hit boundaries with. The bowler tried to pull the length back but he was in full flow by then and deposited one more shot over the non-striker’s head. Avesh plummeted to a 20-run over and the Super Kings were up and running in the chase of 171 runs. He got to his half-century but was not lost on purpose as Ravichandran Ashwin too could not stop his rampage and two masterful boundaries left Pant puzzling for answers. He could not finish the job for the Super Kings and it needed an MS Dhoni special for them to reach the final, but the form and confidence Uthappa showed in such a big game exemplified his character and vindicated Dhoni’s call of backing players who don’t seem to be doing good from the outset. Shimron Hetmyer When Shimron Hetmyer walked out to bat in the middle, the Capitals were just past the halfway stage of their innings and were tottering at the loss of four wickets for just 80 runs. He was forced to do a repair job in the middle along with his skipper Pant and he did a masterful job of that while scoring at a staggering strike rate of 150. He took some eight balls to stabilise both himself and the Capitals before depositing Moeen Ali for a big six and starting a well-measured counterattack. He increased his tempo with boundaries at regular intervals and although there were not too many high sixes flowing out of the ground, he along with Pant had taken the Capitals to a score they would have been comfortable with. He was dismissed after 24-ball 37 that set the stage for a close run chase in the end. Had it not been for him and Pant in the middle, the Super Kings would have strolled past the target and handed the Capitals a demoralising drubbing. Flops Avesh Khan They say that the game of cricket is a great leveller and there is no one better than Avesh Khan to ratify one of the biggest cliches of the game. He was going through a golden form with the ball as his seam bowling with the new ball and variations with the new ball were getting batsmen found out in the crease. However, in the last two games, the scenes have started to change for the young and promising Indian pacer. First, he was all over the place in the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and conceded a last-ball match-winning six to KS Bharat, and now another horrific night with the ball against the Super Kings would have raised alarm bells in the Capitals camp of another player losing form in the phase of the tournament that matters the most. He was once again all over the place against Uthappa and he smashed him over the long-on fence for fun and plundered for 20 runs in the over to give the Super Kings in the powerplay. Then, in the penultimate over, when he was needed to be a bit all over the place to not appear too predictable for Dhoni, he offered a slowish short ball and conceded a big six that shifted the momentum in the Super Kings’ favour. The Capitals would hope he would come back quickly from these two rough games in the next qualifier against one among the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Shardul Thakur There is nothing that Shardul Thakur has done wrong in the last few months and just when all seemed to be falling in place for the pacer, he has hit a stumbling block in form of a rough day in the field. He was brought into the attack to bring control to the bowling department after Shaw was going all over Deepak Chahar. However, he offered worse balls to him and the right-hander did not need a second invitation to smash him and Dhoni’s ambitions of containing him. He was poor on two fronts and two occasions as first he offered him a half-tracker that travelled way over the fence way in front of the square on the leg side. Then, he offered a slower ball right in his slot and Shaw could not miss the opportunity to hit an easy six over long-on. He was not trusted for more than three overs as Dhoni quickly realised it wasn’t his night and he conceded as many as 36 runs in just 18 ball-long spells. Shardul has also been a shining light with the bat as well in the recent past and the Super Kings gave him license to throw all his might in the middle phase of the game. To his credit, he was on the job from the word go and perished in the process on the very first ball instead of eating up the ball and making it tough for the Super Kings. Shardul is not Jasprit Bumrah, who will give nothing away and take wickets with the ball and neither he is Deepak Chahar, who will swing the ball prodigiously to challenge batsmen. He is a bowler who relies on subtle variations and hence is vulnerable to poor days in the field like the one against the Capitals. The Super Kings maintained their supremacy over the Capitals in the playoffs of IPL and reached their night final of the league. They also broke the chain of losses against the Capitals after facing four consecutive defeats against them and it could not have come on a better occasion than the first qualifier of the tournament. On the other hand, the Capitals were left hurting and “disappointed” as Pant described in the post-match presentation after missing out on another easy way to the final this year. Had they done it, it would have been their second final in consecutive seasons, but they will have to blame themselves for the iffy tactics on the field and selection calls from the outset.

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BCCI looking to add extra fast bowler as Hardik Pandya’s cover in India’s T20 World Cup squad

With the International Cricket Council allowing an extra week for Super 12 teams of the T20 World Cup 2021 to finalise their 15 man squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Senior Selection Committee is looking to add an extra fast bowling option in case Hardik Pandya is unable to bowl in the mega event. Panday has not bowled in the entire IPL and hence the likes of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, two fast bowlers who can bat are being considered to be drafted into the last 15. ''Indian team is at least one fast bowler short in the main squad of 15. They have two experienced campaigners in Shardul Thakur, who is also a handy bowling all-rounder and Deepak Chahar, who has shown his batting prowess in Sri Lanka in the stand byes,” a senior BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI. 'So in case, Hardik is not able to bowl, one of the two can be fitted in by the Committee,” the source added. Earlier in the last match of the league stage for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rohit Sharma said that he was not sure when would Hardik be bowling in terms of a timeline. ''In terms of his (Hardik) bowling, the physios, trainers are working. He hasn’t bowled a single ball yet. We wanted to take one match at a time and see where he stands,'' said the Mumbai skipper. ''He is getting better day by day. In the next week or so, he might be able to bowl, who knows? Only the doctors and physios will be able to give an update on that,'' the Indian vice-captain added, indicating that Hardik might yet be able to bowl. Whether or not there is a change in the Indian team the fans would have to wait at least till October 15. Post the specified date of October 15, a change in the squad can only be on the basis of injury.

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IPL 2021 | Eliminator | RCB vs KKR: Knight Riders’ fairy tale comeback faces Royal challenge

It has come down to the main stage of the Indian Premier League 2021. After going through a lot of ordeals which included facing a huge setback in terms of postponement due to Covid-19, the tournament, which was started in April, is now finally coming to its thrilling end in October. The two teams facing each other for a place in the qualifier have been on totally different sides of the spectrum as far as the qualification to the Playoffs is concerned. But come to the Eliminator and all the lines of ‘concern’ would be blurred when Eoin Morgan’s men clash against the team led by Virat Kohli, in his last season as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kolkata would back its spin-trio in Sharjah The entire UAE leg of the IPL 2021 has been a breath of fresh air for the Knight Riders who had only one way of qualifying to the Playoffs, by winning at least five games of the seven left in the second leg. They did exactly that thanks to some brilliant performances from their newfound talent Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, who is back in form and the backing by others such as Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi. However, what has been the biggest plus in the second leg for KKR is its spinners in Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine getting the pitches that support them and Sharjah has been one such stadium with pitches of the liking of spinners. The Eliminator is also scheduled to be played at Sharjah and although the wicket has gotten better a bit, the trio of Shakib Al Hasan, Narine and Chakravarthy would be more than handy against the batting lineup of Bangalore. Also, it is not just spinners, the change of pace by Lockie Ferguson, and inform Shivam Mavi could be very beneficial on this ground as well. Moreover, with Kolkata having won two out of two games played at Sharjah and RCB winning only of their two games, the Knight Riders would back themselves to make it three in three. RCB to take inspiration from its last victory RCB have been in the Playoffs (Semi-Finals combined) five times so far and they have made it to the Final, which makes a success rate of 20%. Also, the last time they were in the Playoffs, they were beaten in the Eliminator by Sunrisers Hyderabad. So, for Virat Kohli and his men to make a mark, they would have to do something they did way back in 2016—make it past the Eliminator. And what could be better for the men in red and gold than their last match experience where out of nowhere, Srikar Bharat had a poetic justice to his innings, hitting the last ball for a six to win a game for RCB. The last time that happened, was done in the Champions League, a tournament that does not exist anymore and by a player called Arun Karthik, way back in 2011. Thus, they already have something to lean back on in terms of repeating history and thus in form players like Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel and Bharat will back themselves to get their team past the Eliminator hurdle. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Details Match Number: Eliminator Date and Time: October 11, 2021, 07:30 pm IST (10:00 GMT), 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Sharjah has gotten better, but with the amount of heat in UAE, even a fresh wicket would have something on offer for spinners, especially in the second inning with the amount of dew remaining negligible. A total of more than 160 in a match of the stature of the Playoffs could be more than competitive. Weather Forecast The temperatures would be in the mid-thirties and humidity would remain low and thus there might be chances of dew later on. A captain winning the toss would look to bowl first in such conditions. However, with it being a knockout game, having run on the board is not a bad option either as the dew might not be as poignant as to affect the grip of the spinners or to make the wicket a sliding one. Team News Royal Challengers Bangalore The RCB have seemed to have finally hit the right nail and Bharat could be their right number three, especially after his match-winning knock in the last game. With Maxwell at four and AB de Villiers at five, the Bangalore batting packs a real punch. No changes seem to be the mode to go for the RCB as well. Having played the last three games with the same XI, there is not even a need to change it right ahead of an important game. Dushmantha Chameera and Wainindu Hasaranga have been released from the IPL bio-bubble for Sri Lanka's World Cup qualifiers but that would not be an issue for them since RCB have clicked with their current combination. Probable XI Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, George Garton, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata would also look to go with the same XI as players have performed well in their roles and have been on the money in all the last few games. If Andre Russell gets fit before the game, they might just try and fit him in the playing XI, but that looks like a very rare possibility. There is an off chance that Shakib Al Hasan might have to leave the IPL bubble as well for Bangladesh's World Cup preparations, but there has not been any confirmation from KKR or BCB yet. Probable XI Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan/Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy CE Fantasy XI team Wicketkeeper: Srikar Bharat Batters: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shubman Gill All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Glenn Maxwell Bowlers: Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshal Patel Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill Captain: Glenn Maxwell