A very satisfying start to the campaign for CSK! Also today's game gave glimpses of the thought process from Dhoni and CSK's management where Dhoni is likely looking at this phase as the transition period where he is going to push other guys up and above him and going to give them the experience to handle pressure situations. It was evident in his post match interview and also when Deepak Chahar gave that bite before today's game when he said what Dhoni told him last year about "I groom players".
I totally loved the idea of sending Jadeja and Curran above Jadhav and Dhoni, and both decisions paid off. Ngidi started rusty, but very quickly he showed how dangerous he is for opposing teams and how crucial he is going to be for CSK in death overs. With Chahar having improved his bowling in last season to handle death overs, CSK now have Ngidi and Chahar for death and someone like Curran to bowl at the start as an attacking option. Also Rayudu and Faf's innings - man, those two were just BRILLIANT!! It might sound silly, but I see Rayudu as a potential captaincy candidate for CSK post Dhoni. Don't be surprised if he is a prime frontrunner for that position. I have a feeling that Raina is on his way out and Rayudu/Jadeja could be competing amongst themselves to become the next captain of CSK post Dhoni. If Rayudu continues like this and reprises the smashing 2018 season, he will have all bragging to stake claim for CSK captaincy.
I would cut Vijay some slack. If Watson can tell from last season that he was backed for all games despite having mediocre returns, why not do the same for Vijay? As Dhoni mentioned in post match interview, we learned today that under lights in the first few overs of the second innings, the ball tends to move a lot here in this ground. Thats where Vijay and Watson were nailed. Rayudu and Faf found it out and played the waiting game and flourished. Vijay and Watson will learn it now and can play a more watchful game next time. I still back Ruturaj over Vijay, but I would give Vijay a few more games till Ruturaj really eases back in.
So happy that CSK book the rut that they had against MI, and beat them!! Best Saturday for me in the past 8 or so months... I am rejoicing the entire evening today here in USA.
I'd say gear up to be surprised more by Dhoni this season. I am actually expecting Dhoni to kinda take a backseat this season and maneuver CSK through without contributing much. And.. its not about Dhoni. Its about CSK winning in the end.
Dhoni brought in Chawla and he gave us a wicket. Dhoni changed ends for Ngidi and gave ball to Curran, he got us a wicket. Dhoni brought back Chawla when Surya-Tiwary went well, Chawla got the breakthrough. Man, his captaincy felt as if it didn't miss a beat.
But I would say the decision to send Jaddu-Curran above Jadhav-Dhoni was more a collaborative decision between Dhoni and Fleming/management. Dhoni couldn't have made it alone.
Honestly, the hype around Raina is starting to get on my nerves now. Raina wasn't even good in the last two seasons. He had sub-par seasons and played a 'hide and seek' role in 2018/19 and yet CSK won a title and clinched runners up spot. I am frankly surprised that Raina's absence is being drummed up to be such a big hole for CSK. And the 'no left hander theory in the top order' - well CSK won without it today against a champion team like MI. In a team like CSK which has experience like no other, such theories won't play such a significant difference in the end. CSK will find ways to do well without it.
People said we miss Harbhajan big time, but Harbhajan again was not a major impact in the last few years. Now Chawla came to the party.
I enjoyed it. They (IPL) did a pretty good job with all those recorded crowd noises, the virtual cheerleaders and the reactive chant audios that accompanied certain players (for e.g. when Dhoni entered, the "Dhoni... Dhoni..." chant was played, which gave the nostalgic feel).
I am only hoping it gets even better as the tournament progresses.
One irritating thing I had was - the USA live telecast on Hotstar was atleast 15 mins behind (3-4 overs behind). As a result, I couldn't access Cricinfo/Twitter/PlanetCricket/etc. as the internet would be spoiling all the fun for me if I logged in to check posts/updates. I am not sure if this is a one-off thing or if it will stay this way. But if it does, this is a major pain point and it dampens my fun of watching the game and tweeting/posting on PC about it.
