The 11th IPL got off to a rousing start with the Chennai Super Kings snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The advantage of having all-rounders was clearly seen as Dwayne Bravo played an incredible knock to get Chennai within a sniff of a victory for the injured Kedar Jadhav to come and finish it off in style. Bravo had earlier bowled with his usual cunning in the final overs to restrict Mumbai from getting to 180 which is the total the defending champions would have been aiming for.
Bravo’s slower deliveries mixed with fast yorkers denied the Mumbai batsmen the big hits that are usually seen in the slog overs. When the 16th over of the Chennai innings had been completed, they needed almost 11 runs an over and it was the Trinidadian who turned the game around with his big hitting. Chennai’s comeback was a memorable one indeed and though their core team looks a bit heavy in the legs, that very experience can come in handy in tight situations as was seen by Bravo’s calculated attack.
Rajasthan Royals, the other team making a comeback to the IPL after being kept out for two years will no doubt take heart from Chennai’s performance. They have a balanced team. While they will miss Steve Smith, the side still is formidable with Shane Warne as their mentor. Ajinkya Rahane is a non-demonstrative skipper, but gets the job done and though he doesn’t feature in the T20 Internationals, he scores at a good clip. He may not hit the sixes, but he is no slouch when it comes to hitting boundaries.
The Sunrisers too will be without their designated skipper David Warner and that will be huge blow. He has been the linchpin of their batting and his captaincy was outstanding. Kane Williamson, who replaces him as skipper comes in with a very good season for New Zealand. He has grown into captaincy quite nicely and like Rahane, he is not a captain who wears his feelings in public, but he is a shrewd one who understands and reads situations better than most.
While there will always be contests within contests like between a great batsman against a great bowler, the ones between skippers is what changes games and this year’s winner will be the team whose captain has made the moves which has turned the tide in his team’s favour.
Undemonstrative Rahane knows how to get job done: Sunil Gavaskar
