IPL 2018 KXIP vs CSK: The Chahar Blitzkrieg
One over after the Strategic Timeout, the match looked more in Punjab's grasp though their hopes of making it to the playoffs were as good as over. Chennai, four down, had just passed the halfway mark, still needing 73 more off the final six. Deepak Chahar, who was sent ahead of the likes of Dhoni and Bravo, was at 12 off 11, wildly swinging the bat at anything coming his way.
Enter the KXIP skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl the 15th over. Chennai's game plan was simple - Raina to stick around till the end to see things through, and the other batsman to go bonkers after the KXIP bowling. Harbhajan didn't exactly fit the latter billing and the onus was now on Chahar to kickstart the execution.
The first ball - Chahal knelt down and whacked the slog sweep to the deep square leg. He did not quite middle it, but with the fielder inside the circle, he managed to just clear the ropes. The second ball was a juicy full toss in his hitting arc, and Chahar gleefully cleared long off with a clean hit. Ashwin, thoroughly shaken, went short and wide for the next ball, only to be called a wide. A couple of balls later, he tried the same again. Unable to resist the temptation, Chahar went after the ball and hit it to the square boundary, fetching another four runs. With 21 runs from that over, Chahar had jeopardized even the Kings' last chance to salvage some glory.
Ashwin bravely persisted with his spin options, throwing the ball to Axar Patel for the 16th over. Raina silently went for the single to rotate the strike. Axar followed with another full toss with a hint of flight and Chahar dispatched it to the straight fence. This was certainly not a delivery to bowl to a man on a rampage.
Twenty-five runs off six balls - yes, after two more balls, he mistimed a well-disguised carrom ball from Ashwin into the hands of Mohit Sharma, but by then he had already done the damage he was assigned to do. With the experienced duo of Dhoni and Raina at the crease, it was only a matter of time before Chennai wrapped up the proceedings.
With Ambati Rayudu in the form of his life and Shane Watson reliving his heydays at the office, CSK would not be looking to use Chahar as KKR uses Narine. However, a reliable pinch-hitting floater is an asset to any team and Chahar's newfound exploits with the bat undoubtedly give a boost to CSK as they find themselves in the all-so-familiar situation of playoffs the ninth time in as many seasons.