CSK trump Kings XI as seasoned stars step up

Half-centuries from Sarfaraz Khan (67) and KL Rahul (55) were not enough to help Kings XI surpass the home side’s 160/3, as the seasoned trident of Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir squeezed their opposition expertly, backing up great counter-attacking knocks from Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni on a difficult surface.

All the seam bowlers on show struggled to quell the threat of numerous set batsmen, but the tweakers were miserly throughout.

18-year-old Afghanistan spin sensation Mujeeb ur Rahman was not selected, Kings XI opting for just the two twirlers in captain Ravichandran Ashwin and his namesake Murugan, and the absence of the extra slow bowler did begin to tell. That being said, Ashwin did not see it is a mistake, offering a justification to his side's selection approach. "I don’t think selection was much of an issue at all," he said at the post-match presentation. "One of our strengths is to play the five specialist bowlers and six batters. At the moment, we lack a bit of flexibility in getting the right combination in terms of a sixth bowler.

"Chris (Gayle) has been batting well, (David) Miller has been batting well and Sam (Curran) had a great game. It would be hard to leave someone out and just for the heck of it bring someone in for the combination."

The Ashwin spin duo both served up their four respective overs at less than six an over, the Kings XI captain's three scalps making up the entirety of the innings’ wickets. Mohammad Shami recorded 0/41 from his four overs, while AJ Tye and Sam Curran went for 38 and 35 respectively, marking a torrid afternoon for the Kings XI seamers.

Du Plessis took to the occasion, and the pacers, swiftly, making the most of his inclusion at the top of the order with a 38-ball 54. The slow bowlers did well to keep down the run-rate in the middle overs before Dhoni let loose in the closing stages, blasting a 23-ball 37 and lifting CSK to 160/3.

In reply, Kings XI bounced back after losing Gayle and Mayank Agarwal in the second over to the brilliant Harbhajan (2/17). Rahul and Sarfaraz put on a stand of 110, but it ended in the 18th over when the former was caught hooking to Scott Kuggelejin for 55.

Rahul had accumulated in his typically laid-back, attractive fashion, and Sarfaraz was excellent too at times, but he failed to truly dismantle the attack and was dismissed for 67 (59), trying to accelerate the game as the prospect of a Kings XI win began to thin. Jadeja (0/24) and Tahir (0/20) conceded just three boundaries between them, while Harbhajan conceded none.

Ashwin's side made a good account of themselves but the guile of Dhoni's captaincy and his trusted players once again saw CSK prevail.

Lead Image – AFP