IPL 2022: "Pitches were different then" - Piyush Chawla explains Moeen Ali's turnaround

Indian spinner-turned-commentator Piyush Chawla has explained the reasons behind Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Moeen Ali's turnaround in IPL 2022.

The Englishman played five games on the trot at the start of the tournament, but found little success. He didn't get to complete his quota of four overs in any match, going wicketless. He was dropped for more than two weeks and brought back only after MS Dhoni took over the captaincy reins from Ravindra Jadeja.

In his return match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he not only scored 34 (27) but also picked up the key wickets of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. The latter was clean bowled with a dream ball that turned from the off and hit the leg-stump. In the last match against the Delhi Capitals (DC), he claimed three wickets for 13 runs.

Chawla said Moeen's varied success is related to the pitches. He argued that the fresh wickets at the start of the tournament didn't offer him much but now, due to time and heat, they have gone slow and are suiting his natural skills much more.

Chawla told ESPNcricinfo:

"Yes, he's coming good on expectations. He didn't get too many wickets at the start because pitches were different then and the matches were 180-190-run high-scoring ones. But as the tournament has progressed, so much cricket has been played and the temperature has gone up, the pitches have become slow. The kind of bowler he is, the ball comes out of his hand really well and he gets a lot of rotations which gives him dip and spin which has been very helpful for him."

Chawla also spoke about the other two overseas pillars of Chennai's bowling attack - all-rounder DJ Bravo and mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana - who have taken 16 and 12 scalps so far, respectively. He labeled them as wicket-takers whose ability to bowl at any stage of the match has benefited the Super Kings.

The 33-year-old leg-spinner, who played for the Super Kings in 2020, said:

"A bowler's value comes from his wicket-taking ability and not the economy rate. Both these bowlers get wickets for their team. Everybody gets hit for runs in the IPL but by taking wickets you get the upper hand for the team. Since Theekshana has arrived, he bowls in the powerplay, the middle-overs and when pitches are slow Mahi bhai uses him even during the difficult slog overs."

Chawla added:

And Bravo is an ever-green bowler who bowls in every situation and especially the slog overs where it's very difficult to bowl. He gets hit for runs but also take wickets so when the new batter comes out to bat, no matter his reputation, it is very difficult to go hell for leather from the first ball."

The defending champions are on the brink of losing out on the qualifiers. With four wins from 11 matches, they need to win all their remaining games and hope for some other results to go their way as well. First in the firing zone are Mumbai Indians (MI), with the two IPL teams locking horns at the Wankhade Stadium on Thursday, 12 May.

Click here to view the orange cap in IPL 2022.

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"A lot will depend on CSK's opening partnership" - Piyush Chawla

Asked whether the Super Kings have enough arsenal in their middle order to trouble Mumbai, Chawla said they do but added that the match's direction will be decided by their in-form openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He said if they fail to give the team a good start, Jasprit Bumrah and Co. will dominate.

Chawla asserted:

"Yes, it cetainly has the capability to trouble MI but a lot will depend on the opening partnership. If your opening partnership does well then life gets easier for the middle and lower-order batters. But if you don't get a good start then the form of the oppositon's bowlers - Bumrah, the form he showed in the last match, he was literally throwing missiles out of his hands and shaking the foundations of every batter."

The match will kick off at 7:30 pm IST.