It was billed as a match between the most powerful batting line up and the strongest bowling side. With the Sun Risers having won every one of their previous home matches in Hyderabad, it wasn’t expected to be too easy for CSK to trod over Sun Risers.
Going by the tournament stats in the games leading upto the match – the highest score by a team in Hyderabad was 130 – the pitch seemed to complement the potent Sun Risers bowling line up lead by the intimidating Dale Steyn. Dhoni, as always, made his own assessments
Sun Risers skipper, Kumar Sangakkara, led from the front by boldly facing up to MS Dhoni for the toss, and exceeded expectations by actually winning it. His momentary sense of satisfaction as he put the Super Kings in to bat, evaporated after Dhoni casually remarked that he had intended to do the same.
Without much ado, the game was underway, even as some in the Sun Risers camp wrestled with their loyalties…
Today Karunanidhi is facing a conflict of interest of Himalayan proportions. Heart with CSK, head with SRH
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 8, 2013
A popular magic trick young fathers in Chennai show their little kids is to point at Murali Vijay in the middle, ask their kids to make a rapid 360 degree turn and watch in amusement as their little jaws drop in awe when they find Suresh Raina standing in place of Vijay. Wednesday, it seemed, wasn’t a good time for this trick, as Murali Vijay continued to survive well into the 2nd over. And when Vijay slammed Ishant Sharma for three consecutive sixes a couple of overs later, it wasn’t the kids, but the adults who watched with their jaws somewhere near their knees.
Dhoni: “I did say the team is getting complacent, but not in my wildest dreams did I expect Murali Vijay to respond” #CSKvsSRH
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 8, 2013
Murali Vijay eventually stepped out of the present, and for a brief second paused to look back upon what he’d done over the last few overs. Shocked by what he found, Vijay lost his focus, and departed to the first short ball that came his way. Suresh Raina swaggered in.
Hope CSK recovers from that Murali Vijay onslaught in time to be able to build on the foundation #CSKvsSRH
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 8, 2013
There is really no other way to describe the next ten overs other than saying that it was calculated devastation. Sun Risers bowlers had to frequently visualize Gayle striking a 30 ball 100 against the Pune Warriors to rescue themselves from plummeting into the dark depths of depression.
The run making spree ended on a cataclysmic note, when Suresh Raina took Ishant Sharma for 25 runs, repeatedly hitting him to the extra cover boundary in a scene that, with a bit of pixelation and better commentary, could very well be mistaken for a casual session of Brian Lara’s cricket.
Ishant Sharma might as well save time and throw the ball directly to cover boundary #CSKvsSRH
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 8, 2013
Dhoni ambled in, but his reputation had sprinted in before him, and Perera promptly bowled three consecutive full tosses to him. Captain Cool responded with three attractive agricultural hoicks, survived the first two and holed out in the 3rd. After that, the batting worm took its usual upward curve with the only event worth recording being Sir Ravindra Jadeja denting Dale Steyn’s figures with a couple of classy strokes.
Steyn may be the best fast bowler in the world, but even he has to bow before Sir Ravindra Jadeja #CSKvsSRH
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 8, 2013
The scoreboard read 223/3. CSK batsmen swaggered back to their dugout to high-five their coach Fleming, while Ishant Sharma gave a wide berth to his bowling coach Waqar Younis and turned on his Facebook account only to find a few new fans.
The Sun Risers innings was nothing to write home about. Apart from a useless little cameo by Parthiv Patel, an attempted rearguard effort from poor man’s David Miller, Thisara Perara, and a neat 39 from Karan Sharma that served no purpose other than making up the ‘positives’ that losing captains so desperately look for, the Sun Risers innings floundered and ended abruptly at 146.
Ishant Sharma has replaced Dinda as Yes Bank brand ambassador after yesterday’s superlative display #SRHvsCSK
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 9, 2013
Sagakkara, however, is not one to dwell in the past. Intent on making it to the play-offs, the suave Sri Lankan wasted no time in mentally preparing himself for the next match with Kings XI Punjab, and indulged in some mind games when he bumped into David Hussey at a post-game IPL party.
