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MS Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to Chepauk in style, beating the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 12 runs in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday, April 3.
The Men in Yellow managed to clinch a narrow victory that handed them their first points of the new season. LSG were in the game for the most part, though, and at one point it even seemed like they'd run away with the result and spoil CSK's party.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by CSK in their IPL 2023 match against LSG.
#3 Mistake - CSK failed to cut the elementary mistakes out of their bowling
LSG scored as many as 18 runs through extras in the second innings of the IPL 2023 clash. CSK bowled a total of 13 wides and three no-balls, with the consequent free-hits costing them as well.
Tushar Deshpande was the main culprit as he bowled all three of the no-balls, first in a hugely expensive opening over of his spell and then in the final over of the innings. He also sent down four wides.
Deepak Chahar was way off the pace as he delivered five wides and failed to bowl to the field throughout his spell. Rajvardhan Hangargekar contributed to the extras total too, bowling three wides.
Some of the wides were excusable as CSK were bowling to tight death-bowling plans and needed to be just inside the tramline. However, no-balls aren't pardonable, as Dhoni made clear at the post-match presentation for the second game running.
#2 Masterstroke - MS Dhoni and Co. got their middle-overs and death-bowling plans spot-on
Speaking of tight death-bowling plans, MS Dhoni put on a captaincy masterclass towards the end of the LSG innings, and his bowlers executed the team's plans to near-perfection.
Deshpande and Hangargekar bowled four excellent overs in the last five that curtailed LSG's momentum and forced them to target the long boundary. Chennai fielders did their job cleaning up in the deep as the Super Giants were constantly kept on their toes.
Ayush Badoni was not fed anything in his slot as CSK looked to target him with back-of-the-length deliveries, learning from the young batter's innovative innings against them last year. Krishnappa Gowtham's hitting arc rarely found any balls within it as the bowlers kept it as wide as possible.
In the middle overs, meanwhile, Dhoni commandeered a classic spin choke. Moeen Ali and Mitchell Santner were simply superb even against negative match-ups, and their eight overs proved to be the difference in the end.
#1 Mistake - CSK were too late to bring on Moeen Ali
Moeen's control was crucial for the Super Kings in the middle overs. With LSG having a few left-handers in their lineup, it was understandable why Dhoni didn't want to bowl out the off-spinner early and force Ravindra Jadeja into bowling to negative matchups in the post-powerplay phase.
However, by the time Moeen was introduced into the attack in the final over of the powerplay, LSG had almost run away with the game. The Super Giants scored a whopping 73 runs in the first five overs, with the in-form Kyle Mayers feasting on pace.
Mayers is known to struggle against off-spinners, but the hosts routinely fed him a military medium pace that he duly dispatched to all corners of the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Immediately after Moeen came on, the left-hander tried to target him and holed out in the deep.
Moeen should've been brought on much earlier, perhaps even in the second over.
