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Saturday, May 1, 2021

Deepak Chahar sends Punjab wobbling !!

If you were to ask – do we need IPL at a time when Covid is peaking – I have no positive answers !!  .. .. but if you are the one to enjoy the game, sitting relaxed at home and see ball-by-ball – I am one with you . .. .. and if you are the one who put a meme or read with happiness (this afternoon especially before the start of the match) on how Dhoni is running a retirement home  ! – or that he looks jaded and needs to retire or he favours some players like – Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ruturaj Gaikwad (who are not performing !) ..  please read on .. and incidentally can you identify this CSK player ?


During the first player auctions for the inaugural IPL season in January 2008, the Chennai franchise bought a number of contemporary star cricketers such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Matthew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Muttiah Muralitharan and Michael Hussey.  Dhoni was the costliest buy at $1.5 million, became the Captain with Kepler Wessels becoming the  head coach. They played their first game on 19 April 2008 against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali, won by 33 runs after posting 240/5 in 20 overs, which was the highest total of the tournament, a record surpassed by themselves in 2010.

Way back in Nov 2019 in T20I 1014 at Jamtha, Nagpur - the wicket of Aminul Islam, clean bowled was significant ~ and if you ask what is great about the last batsman wicket – read on !

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain M. S. Dhoni is playing his 200th  Twenty20 (T20) matches for the Men in Yellow today at Wankhede.  The mercurial MSD  has led CSK  in all but one game (2012 Champions League T20 – in which he bowled too) when he has been part of the XI.   Dhoni has made 176 appearances for CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL) besides having 24 outings for the side in the Champions League T20 (CLT20) tournament in the past. MSD also represented Rising Pune Supergiant in 30 IPL matches in the 2016-17 seasons.

Under the helm of Dhoni – CSK has performed greatly .. have won the IPL title thrice (in 2010, 2011 and 2018),  have the highest win percentage of matches among all teams in the IPL (59.83 %). They hold the records of most appearances in the playoffs (ten) and the Final (eight) of the IPL.  In addition, they have also won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014. .. .. and yet they are ridiculed often !!

In Nov 2010 - Hyderabad axed four senior players, while their head coach and batting coach have resigned in the aftermath of a humiliating defeat against Rajasthan in their opening Ranji Trophy game in Jaipur.  The ignominy was - they were bowled out for 21 - the lowest score in the tournament's history. Batsmen Arjun Yadav, Anirudh Singh, Anoop Pai and allrounder MP Arjun were dropped.  Head coach Venkatapathy Raju, a former Indian left-arm spinner, and batting coach Vivek Jaisimha resigned. 

Today at Wankhede – the ball was moving – wonderfully bowled by Deepak  Chahar as Punjab were all at bay more so after a brilliant run out by Sir Jadeja.  Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda and Nicholas Pooran – all removed by Chahar.  Wickets fell at 1;15;19;19;26;57;87 & 101 as Punjab ended their innings at 106 with TN Sharuh Khan scoring 47.  Punjab's 106/8 is the second lowest 20-over total in IPL at Wankhede. Lowest is 101/9 by MI against PWI in 2012 while chasing a target of 130 to win.


Well bowled Deepak Chahar !  .. on that day against Bangladesh at Nagpur, of  the 5 bowlers, Khaleel and Washington Sundar went wicketless; Yuz Chahal had one taking him to the fastest Indian to 50 wickets in T20I.. Shivam Dubey was the unlikely hero with 3 wickets (was on a hattrick with 4-0-30-3) .. .. it was CSK Deepak Chahar who stole the show ! ~ he reportedly was rejected by  Greg Chappell, who was director of the Rajasthan Cricket Association academy in 2008.   Chahar had dream figures of 3.2-0-7-6 – including a hat-trick when Aminul Islam was bowled off the 2nd ball of the last over – it was his third consecutive wicket split between 18th and 20th overs.  Only 3 bowlers have taken 6 wickets in T20I – Ajantha Mendis twice and Ys Chahal once – DL Chahar topped hat list with a magical 3.2/0/7/6.

In Nov 2010,  77 years after its inauguration, it was mayhem at Jaipur. The name of  Deepak Lokandersingh Chahar was one everybody’s lips. The  18 year old has created waves not mere ripples.  In his debut Ranji match at Sawai Man singh,  he walked into the record books and enabled a humiliating place for Hyderabad also.   Pankaj singh bowled 8 overs conceded 11 and took 2 but for once looked an ordinary performance as at the other end was Chahar who had figures of  7.3 – 2 - 10 – 8. In the second his figures read : 18-3-54-4.

The cricketer at the start is Chezian Hari Nishaanth – the other childhood friend of him Narayanan Jagadeesan have played junior cricket together in Coimbatore and have also opened together for Dindigul Dragons in the TNPL - have been central to Tamil Nadu's unbeaten run in Syed Mushtaq Ali this season. The pair has struck up three fifty-plus opening partnerships, including an unbroken 128 against Assam.

Interesting !  CSK kku whistle podu –enga thalai Dhonikku periya whistle adinga!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
16.4.2021. 

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