CHENNAI : When both Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer admitted that they wanted to bowl first — the former won the toss — at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday, they knew what to expect. For starters, the contest was being played on the same surface where Royal Challengers Bengaluru played. The heat and humidity meant there was going to be a significant amount of dew, with the conditions becoming easier to bat later in the night.
For the home team, however, the stakes were high. They had lost two games on the road, and the batters’ intent was questioned. They were back at their fortress with a sea of yellow cheering them on, but the task was not going to be easy.
KKR have one of the best batting line-ups (in terms of intent) and CSK’s bowling was not exactly firing. And without Matheesha Pathirana, they had the task cut out.
One can only imagine what went on Tushar Deshpande’s mind when Phil Salt slashed at the length delivery — the very first ball of the match — that was there to be hit. For a moment, everyone thought this was going to be yet another match where Salt and Sunil Narine would end the contest in the powerplay. But then, a hand intervened as the ball was on its way to the ropes. Ravindra Jadeja, at backward point, made a slight jump to grab it with both hands as the entire stadium erupted. It was a dream start. Little did anyone know then it was a sign of Chennai's match MVP.
Over the next 5.5 overs, Narine and Angrish Raguvanshi would nullify the effect of the first-ball wicket as KKR finished the powerplay with 56/1. Narine, in particular, was looking dangerous while Raghuvanshi was happily taking on spinners. It seemed like CSK needed another intervention and Ruturaj Gaikwad turned to Jadeja. His first ball was a length delivery which pitched on middle-and-leg before hitting the pads of Raghvanshi who was looking for a reverse sweep. The umpire’s finger immediately went up.
Four balls later, he drifted one outside off-stump and Narine sliced it up only to be caught by Maheesh Theekshana. The danger man was back in the pavilion as KKR lost two wickets in an over. CSK was back in the game as Jadeja had played his second act. Over the next seven overs, with Maheesh Theekshana and Rachin Ravindra for company, Jadeja tightened the screws. Between overs 6-13, they hit just two boundaries and 25 runs. By the time Jadeja was done, he had also dismissed Venkatesh Iyer, finishing with 3/18 in his four overs.
It was no surprise that Jadeja nailed his role to perfection at Chepauk. He has always been capable of that. What stood out with the spell was that he was up against Indian batters, including Shreyas, who can hit spin at will. That the KKR batter could only manage a run-a-ball ten against Jadeja summed up how efficient Jadeja was with the ball. “There was slow turn, after pitching on the surface, the ball wasn't coming at all and it comes difficult,” the CSK all-rounder would say later as KKR managed only 137/9 in 20 overs.
Perhaps the most pleasing thing about Jadeja’s performance against KKR was that he needed it more than his team. Until Monday, Jadeja had just one wicket in four matches for 105 runs. His team was in trouble, the runs were not coming, neither were the wickets. When it looked like they might go into a slump, Jadeja put up his hand and said not today.