IPL 2018: 5 of the best knocks by CSK 

Chennai Super Kings suffered just their second loss of the 2018 IPL season last night, losing comprehensively by eight wickets to Mumbai Indians.

A score of 169 was always going to be an easy target, especially for a Mumbai side brimming with batting talent right up to No.8.

But MI made it unnecessarily tight, carrying it late until a late Rohit Sharma onslaught killed it off in the penultimate over.

CSK are still sitting pretty at the top of the table with a slightly superior run-rate over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

They find themselves in this relatively easy position because of their stellar batting performances in previous games. Someone or the other always stepped up in every game to ensure CSK got over the line eventually.

Here we take a look at five of their best knocks so far:

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#5 MS Dhoni- 70*(34) vs RCB

The genius of this man will never cease to amaze us. He follows methods best known to him and carries out one successful chase after another as if it is the easiest thing in the world.

RCB had posted a stiff score of 205 with valuable contributions from AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock. CSK’s bowling was taken to the cleaners by the duo even after the powerplay had ended. CSK did apply the brakes slightly but late hitting by Mandeep Singh and Washington Sundar took RCB past 200.

In reply, CSK started poorly, losing Watson early and Raina, Billings and Jadeja perished quickly after with CSK reeling at 74-4. In walked MS Dhoni to join the in-form Rayudu. The duo stitched a wonderful partnership to take CSK closer to the target.

Rayudu was dismissed before the winning runs were hit but Bravo came in and hit a couple of lusty blows.

At a time when our blood pressure was rising with every passing ball, MSD readjusted his gloves and launched Negi and Anderson into the stands regularly to take CSK to a famous victory.

#4 Shane Watson- 106(57) vs RR

Watto played like a man possessed

Watson was once described by a scribe as, “an underpowered bus trudging up a hill” while he was bowling.

While his fragile body may have copped its fair share of injuries over the years, there was no dearth of power when he launched the RR bowlers all over the MCA stadium in Pune.

Batting first, Watson and Rayudu got off to a flier in the powerplay, with Watson doing most of the hitting.

Rayudu was dismissed soon but Watto was joined by Raina. Together they continued the hitting with Raina eventually falling just short of a half-century. The rest of the batsmen could not contribute much in the rest of the innings.

But all this did nothing to deter Watson’s willpower. He seemed like a man on a mission as he sized up every delivery, getting into position quickly and pulling and cutting, hitting the gaps and getting the ball over the boundary with alarming regularity.

He raised his century in the penultimate and by then had done enough to take CSK over 200. To put the icing on the cake, he returned with figures of 1-13 in three overs to deservedly take the Man of the Match award.

#3 MS Dhoni- 79*(44) vs KXIP

MSD could not take CSK to victory despite a trademark innings

Another Dhoni masterclass. Though this came in a losing cause, MSD showed what a legendary batsman he was. Displaying ice-cool nerves, he seemed undeterred by the rising required run-rate with every over.

Earlier, Chris Gayle in his debut for KXIP and KL Rahul got KXIP to a dream start. Gayle, in his typical power hitting style and Rahul, timing the ball as sweetly as possible formed a potent partnership and carted the CSK bowlers all around the park.

Though the later batsmen could only take them to 197, it seemed a competitive score, considering Mohali’s huge outfield.

With Raina injured, Vijay accompanied Watson to the middle with Rayudu supposed to come in at No.3. CSK did not get a good start, as they lost both openers within four overs.

A couple of overs later, Billings was also sent to the dugout via a review. In walked Dhoni to join Rayudu, who looked in good touch.

Rayudu was unfortunately run-out and all the responsibility squarely fell on the skipper’s shoulders. On top of that, he had pulled his back and so could not run the quick singles and doubles.

But none of that mattered to MS. With 55 required off the last three overs, he scored 19 each of the next two to bring the equation down to 17 needed off the last over.

Unfortunately, he played a single dot and CSK eventually lost by four runs. If only he had one more ball to play…..

#2 Ambati Rayudu- 79(37) vs SRH

Rayudu displayed tremendous hitting in his innings of 79

This was CSK’s first-afternoon match of the season and the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium was burning with heat.

The sweltering heat seemed to have an effect on the Super Kings’ batsman, as they looked out of touch.

Watson and Du Plessis just could not time the ball or hit the gaps. CSK recorded the poorest powerplay score of 28 and reached 50 in the tenth over.

Then came the onslaught. Rayudu decided he had had enough. It was after all his home ground.

He knew the ground and pitch like the back of his hand. And he batted exactly like that. On a pitch where other batsmen were unable to read the ball, Rayudu hit nine fours and six sixes.

His belligerence rubbed off on Raina on the other end as well, as he recorded a fifty. MSD later came in and hit a breezy 25 off 12 balls to eventually take CSK to 182, a score which seemed very distant at the half-way mark.

SRH did respond with Williamson and Pathan’s late hitting but it was Rayudu’s day and the genius of DJ Bravo ensured that he earned a victory for his stupendous effort.

#1 DJ Bravo- 68(30) vs MI

Bravo played a scintillating knock

Definitely the best knock of CSK’s season thus far came in the opening game of the season. Bravo, previously a MI player, single-handedly orchestrated the game and ensured CSK had a winning comeback to the IPL after their ban.

Earlier, MI in their backyard had posted 165 on the board. Needless to say, this was way below the par score, as the Wankhede is a batsman’s paradise and the small ground meant that it was easily a 190-200 kind of a pitch.

CSK had envisaged as much and came out with utter confidence, almost over-confidence in fact. What they had failed to factor was MI’s trump card in Mayank Markande.

The youngster was making his debut and absolutely tormented the CSK batsman with his leg-breaks and terrific googlies.

He picked three wickets, including the all-important one of Dhoni. This was when Bravo decided he would take matters into his own hands.

He took apart the best death bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Mustafizur Rahman and launched them into the stands as if they were schoolboys.

He hit just three fours and sent seven over the boundary ropes before eventually falling in the penultimate over.

But Kedar Jadhav walked out despite being injured and played three dots before hitting a brilliant six over fine leg and ensured Bravo’s efforts did not go to waste.

It was a cracker of a game and the perfect start to the new IPL season.

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