2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by CSK in their IPL 2023 match vs PBKS
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) succumbed to their second home defeat in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) clinched a last-ball thriller by four wickets on Sunday, April 30.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Super Kings' openers got the team off to an excellent start. Devon Conway made an unbeaten 92 as the home side reached the 200-mark once again. In response, PBKS had contributions from several batters before finally getting over the line by the skin of their teeth.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by CSK in their IPL 2023 match against PBKS.
#3 Mistake - Matheesha Pathirana and MS Dhoni got it wrong on the last ball
Matheesha Pathirana is an incredible young talent who nearly got CSK over the line from an improbable situation against PBKS. MS Dhoni, meanwhile, is arguably the greatest captain the game of cricket has ever seen.
However, the duo weren't quite in sync off the final ball of the chase, when Punjab needed three runs. The last over, which saw Pathirana bowl to Sikandar Raza and Shahrukh Khan, had him trying to mix up yorkers and slower ones with square leg inside the circle.
The ideal thing to do off the final ball would've been to send down a fast yorker, since Raza had already been deceived by a slower ball and knew what to expect. Moreover, with three runs to win, CSK had the cushion to attempt a yorker and not worry about potentially picking up a wicket.
Either way, the Super Kings should've switched up their field for the last ball. They should've brought fine leg inside the circle and pushed square leg to the ropes if Pathirana was going to attempt a slower ball, since that would've taken the ramp out of the equation.
CSK ended up using neither strategy, with Raza depositing Pathirana's cutter into vacant spaces in the square-leg region. The young Sri Lankan is already supremely intelligent and will learn from this experience, though.
#2 Masterstroke - CSK promoted Shivam Dube to No. 3 and maximized the middle overs
When Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed in the 10th over, CSK had an excellent platform to work with. The Men in Yellow were placed at 86/1 and had plenty of firepower in the dugout.
However, the PBKS spinners were getting some grip and turn from the Chepauk surface and had four options in their ranks - Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sikandar Raza and Liam Livingstone. It could've gone wrong for the home side, who have had their issues against spin in the past.
IPL 2023 has been different, though, and much of that has been down to Shivam Dube. The tall southpaw has used his range and length to marmalize the slower bowlers this year, and sending him at No. 3 allowed CSK to maintain a potent spin-hitting combination.
It's not often that IPL teams choose not to maintain a right-left combination. However, MS Dhoni and Co. knew that both Dube and Conway are quite good against off-spin. By sending Dube in at No. 3, they took Harpreet Brar out of the equation.
PBKS' inability to bowl Brar meant that they needed to use one over of Rahul Chahar at the death, with Conway striking him for two boundaries. They also needed to bowl an over of Livingstone, which ended up costing 16 runs.
#1 Mistake - Ravindra Jadeja's last over was kept too late
It's very rare to see MS Dhoni make such an elementary mistake. It's also rare to see him not bowl out a particular bowler when he's in a good rhythm.
By the end of the 11th over, Ravindra Jadeja had bowled three overs for 15 runs and had prised out two wickets - Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide. However, Dhoni opted to take the left-arm spinner out of the attack and didn't bring him back until the 17th over, when Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran were in a rampaging mood at the crease.
Jadeja was hit for two sixes in that over, which went for 17 runs. The required run rate went down to 10.33 from 12, and Pathirana eventually had too much to do.
CSK should've ideally held one over of Theekshana back and bowled out Jadeja earlier. The left-arm spinner is perhaps in the best bowling form of his career, but he's surely not good enough to bowl the 17th over of a tall run-chase.