Chennai Super Kings handed Mumbai Indians their biggest-ever defeat (103 runs) in IPL history. Following the win, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad dedicated the win to left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary, who turned up to play the match after his mother’s death on Tuesday.
CSK players also wore black arm bands during the match on Thursday. “Pretty tough on him (Mukesh Choudhary),” CSK captain Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation. “I would dedicate this win to him. Coming in from that sad situation, it takes a lot of effort mentally. He came back for the team, he knew we needed him. All glory to him. Even we spoke before… we wanted to win the game and glad everyone chipped in and wanted to be there for him.”
Choudhary, playing his second game of the season, bowled four overs on the trot, and returned figures of 1 for 31. He struck off his fifth delivery by dismissing Quinton de Kock for 7.
Gaikwad said 207 was always a good score on that sluggish track where the ball was holding up, as CSK bowlers bundled MI out for 104.
“Me and Sanju (Samson) felt it was not coming on nicely,” he said. “Anyway 200-210 was going to be a good score, Akeal (Hosein) coming in for bowling helps a lot, everyone just chipped in really well. Those 20s from Kartik (Sharma) and (Dewald) Brewis helped a lot, it kept the momentum going and Sanju played a magnificent knock (101 off 54 balls), taking us home again. Really thanks to him, he’s been fantastic.”
Gaikwad praised his spinners, Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein, for playing a key role. Together, they bowled brilliantly, giving away just 41 runs in eight overs and taking six wickets. Hosein was the standout performer with 4 for 17 and was named Player of the Match.
“We’re kind of heading in a direction where we’re trying to cover all bases,” said Gaikwad.
“Khaleel wasn’t available, but Mukesh to start that first over, especially to Quinton, that really set the momentum. To bowl three overs in the powerplay to the likes of Surya (Yadav) and Tilak (Varma), he started really well. Anshul (Kamboj) is always foxing (batters) well, Jamie (Overton) whenever the wicket has pace and bounce, he and Gurjapneet (Singh) can take wickets in the middle for us.
“We always have Noor and it’s always a blessing to have Akeal, if we have an opportunity. Overall, everyone is getting into their roles, settling and I feel everyone’s calm and composed, they know what to do. But I feel we (should) start (the next game) from zero, assessing the pitch, we’ve got a day game as well. Make sure we enjoy this win, keep it aside and ensure we’re ready for the next one.”
