Chennai Super Kings Clinch Victory Over RCB In IPL 2011 with Vijay’s Stellar Performance
Chennai Super Kings successfully defended their title against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), claiming their second IPL trophy.
Before this final, what would the Chennai Super Kings have wished for? 1) On a sluggish pitch, win the toss. 2) The openers had a great start. 3) Substitute a duck for Chris Gayle. PS: While we’re at it, how about we quickly eliminate Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers? They received all of that. Chennai defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore with an almost flawless performance, winning their second IPL championship.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 147 for 8 (Ashwin 3-16) lost to Chennai Super Kings 205 for 5 (Vijay 95, Hussey 63) by 58 runs.
M Michael Hussey hasn’t performed well in the last few games, and Vijay hasn’t often converted his starts in the IPL. What then happens on the day of the major conclusion? At the Chidambaram Stadium, they put together a scorching 159-run partnership to take Chennai to a huge total. The pursuit was then abruptly cut off when R Ashwin bowled Gayle for a duck in the opening over. The game is over.
What was striking was how effortlessly the runs came in and how composedly the Chennai openers collected them. While there were a few notable players, almost all of them were in traditional zones. In the first fourteen overs, there was just one poor shot. Just one.
Vijay had just produced a carefree flick in the tenth over that sailed just clear of a lunging Luke Pomersbach on the boundary near deep midwicket. The following ball he attempted to plod across the line and edged to the leg side. The players’ response demonstrated their understanding of the need to control adrenaline: Hussey hurried over to have a lengthy conversation while Vijay shadow rehearsed a straighter bat arc.
Their different styles worked well together for the 14.5 overs that made up their partnership. Hussey would occasionally land a huge hit to break up his bunts, chips, and drives. One of his best hits was a terrifying heave off Syed Mohammad that went straight into the roof and beyond.
Vijay took a different route. His flashy on-the-up swings were interspersed with more subdued punches during singles and doubles. Both of them sprinted quickly and forcefully between the wickets, and their scoring rates never faltered. Hussey was the first to falter, smashing a full toss from Mohammad to long-on, but Vijay was growing more and more exhausted. They had established a solid foundation by then.
With a unique shot in the second over’s last delivery, Vijay was the one who set off the chaos. Though it appeared to be a brief delivery with limited space for movement, Vijay skillfully swept the ball up and past the line for a spectacular six over long-on.
To begin the attack, Hussey pulled the next ball, which came from Zaheer Khan, over the backward square-leg boundary. They did that double dose of sixes once again. Hussey chopped Mohammad’s last ball of the fifth over over the midwicket boundary, and Vijay hoisted Chris Gayle’s following ball over long-on. After reaching 56 for 0 in six overs, Chennai continued to gain momentum.
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They both got into bowling in the same manner. It only took Ashwin three deliveries to get rid of the main obstacle in their way. Before the third veered in from around the stumps and skidded on to grab the edge off an attempted cut, the first two twisted sharply away from Gayle. De Villiers produced a couple big smashes, but Shadab Jakati trapped him, and Suresh Raina got Kohli leg before wicket to seal the victory for Chennai.
Bangalore, on the other hand, made mistakes in the small areas that count at this point. Three times during the Powerplay, fielders gave in to adrenaline and made unnecessary throws; one, from Saurabh Tiwary, even went to the boundary. Pomersbach might have done a better job of taking that opportunity from Vijay in the tenth over, and in the twelfth over, S Aravind mishandled a chance to run Hussey out.
After calling Hussey for a dangerous single, bowler Aravind threw the ball wide at the non-striker’s end after picking it up at short mid-on. Vijay is the non-striker on the team.
Another incident occurred in the eleventh over when Mohammad, the bowler, threw himself fully to his right but was unable to hold on to a challenging opportunity presented by Vijay. That was the type of day. For Bangalore, things simply didn’t work out, while for Chennai, everything happened as planned.
Ashwin’s Game Plan Against Gayle
Chris Gayle was removed from the game in the first over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase by R Ashwin, who claimed three wickets for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final. Ashwin felt that getting pace off the ball was crucial.
Chris Gayle was removed from the game in the first over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase by R Ashwin, who claimed three wickets for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final. Ashwin felt that having pace off the ball was crucial.
“He [Gayle] has been batting really well this year and has been extremely selective in his strokes, which to me was the real difference,” Ashwin stated to the Hindustan Times. “I had no intention of giving him any pace since everyone is aware of what Gayle can do with it. He had to use both his feet and his head because of the lack of pace.”
Gayle was the IPL’s top run scorer and was responsible for turning Bangalore’s fortunes around on her alone. However, Ashwin stated that he was always sure that he would get Gayle out. Ashwin had already dismissed Gayle for eight in the first qualifier in Mumbai. “You cannot prepare for someone such as Gayle. You risk becoming defensive if you think about him excessively. I knew I could get him, and I succeeded.
“I was aware that he would never approach me. I remembered that he’d pulled me for a six at Wankhede. In Bangalore, the objective was for me to spin a couple past him and then deliver an arm ball to get him bowled or put out leg before wicket. However, it jumped and spun on Saturday, and I believe Gayle was a little late for his shot.”
Early in the game, Ashwin—who was frequently paired with Chennai captain MS Dhoni—admired that he “liked” to bowl with the new ball. “I enjoy using a fresh ball when bowling. Second, I use it to bowl in the nets as well. I simply enjoy the way it feels, and the lacquer and seam make it go off the wicket.”
With 20 wickets at the end of the tournament, Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker for Chennai and claimed that having Dhoni as his wicketkeeper had improved his bowling. “I rely a lot on the bounce, therefore a good wicketkeeper is extremely crucial,” he stated. “With Dhoni, my bowling has improved significantly in terms of caught-behinds and stumpings. He is aware of the bounce, fluctuation, and trajectory experience.”
But Chennai’s batters laid the stage for their win, scoring 205 runs in the first over thanks to a 159-run partnership between M Vijay and Michael Hussey. After hitting 95 off 52 balls to win the game and be named Man of the Match, Vijay explained that his main goal had been to hit as many singles as he could. “I was missing a lot of singles in the previous matches,” he stated. “I was making progress, but I wasn’t finishing.” I then made a conscious effort to improve my running, aiding Hussey in getting singles and switching up the strike.”
According to Murali Vijay, the team’s performance was aided by Chennai keeping the core of the squad from the 2011 auction. “There are a lot of known faces around since Chennai retained four players and bought back the core group of the squad during the auction,” Vijay told the Indian Express. “Everyone is aware of the expectations and is familiar with one another’s games. The fact that Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni have been collaborating for some time has been beneficial. Players are more at ease and perform at their best because of the sense of familiarity.”
This team is full of talented players who have represented their country in Tests and One-Day Internationals. Being well-known worldwide, they are aware of the necessary steps to maintain the winning momentum from one game to the next.
Despite Bangalore‘s efforts, highlighted by some big shots from their batsmen, they faltered in crucial moments, such as fielding errors during the Powerplay and missed opportunities to capitalize on chances. These lapses contrasted sharply with Chennai’s disciplined performance, where every aspect of their game seemed to align perfectly.
Overall, Chennai Super Kings‘ victory was a testament to their strategic planning, exceptional individual performances, and cohesive team effort, making them deserving champions of the IPL 2011.
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