The new ball was gripping. The old ball was gripping even further, and turning big. Despite the onset of dew later in the evening, the ball was still turning and holding in the track. This was the Chepauk of old. It was difficult to hit through the line, let alone hit across it. On such a pitch, Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni produced high-voltage cameos, striking at over 200 to lift Chennai Super Kings to an above-par 167 against Delhi Capitals.
Both Dhoni and Dube were nursing injuries. Dhoni has been battling a knee injury right from the start of the season, while Dube hasn't yet recovered from the finger injury he picked up while fielding against Mumbai Indians on Saturday. But despite that, they generated enough power and fulfilled their roles admirably.
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Dube is CSK's designated spin-hitter. He whacked the second ball he faced from a spinner for six to break a 29-ball sequence without a boundary. Offspinners are supposed to have a favourable match-up against left-handers, but Dube smashes every variety of spin. He smoked Lalit Yadav for back-to-back sixes down the ground to have the Chepauk crowd chanting his name.
Dube had zoomed to 25 off 11 balls. Mitchell Marsh hid a cutter away from Dube's reach, but the batter still backed himself to clear the bigger leg-side boundary and swung hard. Dube ended up holing out to deep midwicket, but it is this no-holds-barred approach that has defined CSK's batting this season. When CSK started IPL 2023, they had batting all the way down to No.11, and their head coach Stephen Fleming has encouraged his batters to play high-risk cricket throughout the season.
"I think it's a reflection of how the game is being played," Fleming said at the post-match press conference. "We've asked players to play more high-risk [shots], and the way you compose an innings is a little bit different. So I'm happy with the cameos. If it keeps pushing you above par, getting players to come out and play more aggressively… mistakes come with that, but you've seen again today maybe a 160 wicket turned into a possible 175-180 [wicket] because we had positive intent through partnerships and guys playing aggressively.
"Dube is a good example of that, and [Ambati] Rayudu and then MS at the end. So we created enough to get ahead of the game again, which we were happy with even though we lost seven [eight] wickets."
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Dhoni's stay at the crease was short too, but the result was sweet. Twenty off nine balls at a strike rate of 222.22. Nobody had a better strike rate than Dhoni on the day. Moreover, among batters who have faced at least 40 balls this IPL, nobody has a better strike than Dhoni's 204.25. Overall, Dhoni has faced just 47 balls this season, but has scored 96 runs. He has hit a six every 4.7 balls.
There have been calls for Dhoni to move up the order, but a weak knee has restricted his mobility. On Wednesday, he was spotted hobbling between the wickets. Even before the season had begun, Dhoni, who will turn 42 this July, understood his limitations and set himself up to only bat at the death, and hit sixes during this phase.
At every practice session, Dhoni would just turn up towards the fag end of it and launch sixes on either side of the wicket. He has also been hitting big sixes against spin. He faces a lot of balls from B Rocky, a mystery spinner, who had been Varun Chakravarthy's understudy at Madurai Panthers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), and tees off like he used to do back in the day.
"That [bat at the death and hit out] is what my job is," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation. "I've told them [the team] this is what I'm supposed to do and don't make me run a lot, and it has been working (laughs). Others have been doing their job, and I've said this is what I need to do. So happy to contribute [with] whatever deliveries I'm getting. So accordingly I'm practicing also. What I may get in a game is what I actually practice, so it helps me perform."
Dhoni had launched CSK's home season with imposing sixes off his first two balls from Mark Wood, one of the fastest bowlers in the world. But Wednesday's pitch was particularly sluggish. Khaleel Ahmed, who had given just 12 runs off his first three overs, was bowling slower cutters into the pitch, asking Dhoni to manufacture the pace for himself. Dhoni did that in grand style, going 6, 4, 6.
Khaleel's plan was also to shift his lines wider of off, and deny Dhoni easy access to the shorter leg-side boundary. But Dhoni stood on off stump, got closer to the balls, swivelled through his hips, and pumped sixes over the leg side. Chepauk celebrated vintage Dhoni with ear-splitting whistles and cheers.
Dhoni hasn't added extra power to his game, but according to Fleming, he is has been maximising his strengths and clearing the boundaries this season because of his training pattern.
"No, he's just training a certain way," Fleming said. "He knows he's not going to bat for a long time, and we had a lot of batting ahead. So he has really concentrated on the last three overs. [He] wasn't as mobile between the wickets today, but he pushed pretty hard. So he has concentrated on pretty strong hitting practice, and you can see the benefits of that.
"He is just comfortable being able to play around the ground. We know how good a hitter of the ball he is, and his access in certain areas is still very strong. So that cameo again at the end was valuable in a hard-fought 20 overs."
Chennai has been craving a starring role from its Thala, but these cameos have worked well for CSK. They're already on the verge of the playoffs, which will start at their fortress Chepauk.