Rachin and Dubey Shines as CSK Dominated Gujarat for 63 Runs Win
CSK’s 206 was set up by Shivam Dube and Rachin Ravindra, and their five fast bowlers ended the Gujarat Titans’ pursuit.
The Chennai Super Kings‘ fresh players made an impression on the side they defeated in the IPL 2023 championship, indicating that success may also be abundant in the years to come for MS Dhoni.
Gujarat Titans 143 for 8 (Sudharsan 37, Chahar 2-28, Deshpande 2-21) were defeated by Chennai Super Kings 206 for 6 (Dube 51, Ravindra 46) by 63 runs.
They reached 206 thanks to the efforts of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (46 off 36), Sameer Rizvi (14 off 6), Shivam Dube (51 off 23), and Rachin Ravindra (46 off 20). This was more than sufficient for a bowling attack that is also undergoing changes.
Chepauk gave the host team’s spinners no wickets for the second straight game. Rather, all the damage was caused by the fast bowlers, particularly Deepak Chahar (2 for 28) and Tushar Deshpande (2 for 21). The times are indeed changing.
Explosive Rachin
Rachin plays from the back foot. The strongest aspect of his game, though, is his drives. They appear very genuine. Nearly automatic. This is essentially the outcome of a mental shift that he underwent, which was made abundantly clear during the ODI World Cup when he allowed himself to swing strongly at the ball. Watching him now, bias is nearly nonexistent.
He was driving sixes straight. He was pushing boundaries with his front foot. He was pounced on by Rashid Khan’s infrequent short balls. This batter was showcasing his excellent hand-eye coordination and early ability to pick length.
He was always in the right place. He never hurried. He never gave the impression that he was trying. Because he struck nine boundaries in the powerplay, which is tied for sixth highest by any CSK hitter in IPL history, his 46 off 20 balls has already earned him a spot in the Super Kings Hall of Fame.
Dubey Continues The Destruction
In their opening game of the season, the Titans defeated the Mumbai Indians thanks in large part to left-arm spinners Sai Kishore and Rashid Khan. Here, they were essentially prevented from completing their allotted number of overs. due to Shivam Dube.
With the score at 104 for 2, Ajinkya Rahane was removed with the first ball of the eleventh over. One of the league’s top spin hitters launched the second and third into orbit.
Perhaps the best case for role clarity in T20 cricket comes from Dube’s story. Here was a power batter who, despite being used as a finisher by teams, had only managed one fifty from his first 22 IPL innings. He’s not that, because he’s still developing his quick bowling defense.
His entire potential was being wasted until CSK approached him in 2022 and made the decision to utilize him against slower bowlers, the kind of opponents he can just put his front foot down and utilize his entire wingspan against. Not even Rashid could silence Dube. That’s how good his spin-hitting is. With 57 sixes since the change to yellow, he is now only one behind Jos Buttler (59) and on par with IPL great Andre Russell and Liam Livingstone.
Also Read: CSK Wins 2023 IPL Final to Crown Joint 5 Times Champions
Sameer Hits Rashid for Two Sixes
With less than two overs remaining, Chepauk might have anticipated Dhoni to walk out to the middle when Dube fell off the wicket. Yes, the camera did. In the changing room, it kept panning to him.
Rizvi, who is 20 years old, took the initiative instead. And he hit a six off the opening ball he faced in the IPL. It was made even more memorable by the fact that Rashid was bowling at the time and that he hit him for another six, although it was a bit of a mishit as he charged out of his crease and nearly got himself off his feet. There are likely to be a few more exceptional years if this is the new CSK.
CSK Pacers Show
Deepak Chahar was discovering that his slower ball was not working this evening; the pitch was only allowing it to slide across the bat rather than providing grip. However, Chepauk didn’t completely desert its troops. In the third over, Shubman Gill was removed from the game due to a slight bounce in the ball. Playing that front-foot pull shot with an angled bat that usually travels to the boundary, he was leg before wicket.
Further mischief was made when a team not particularly known for their fielding skills produced three amazing catches: Dhoni skipping a skier from Azmatullah Omarzai, Ajinkya Rahane sprinting in from midwicket and diving forward to stop a David Miller helicopter shot at deep midwicket, and Ravindra diving full length to his right to remove Vijay Shankar.
The Titans pursuit was never sustained. When their openers went, they had just 34 runs on the board; when their top scorer, Sai Sudharsan, fell, they had 114; and at 129 for 8, they were in danger of being bowled out. Although it didn’t happen, they suffered their worst IPL defeat in terms of runs scored.
