Five factors that caused the fall of the Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai Super Kings lost a match that many believed would be a comfortable win after the Hussey crackdown in the first two overs. 123, as captain Dhoni admitted in the post-match presentation, the expected score with no surprises. Now the question arises what actually happened that the kings became the prey after a disciplined bowling effort, thunderbolt fielding and a diehard desire to win that was displayed by the seasoned Ranji player Shadab Jakati who bruised his middle finger of his bowling hand as he tried to catch a belted shot by Lendl Simmons on his own bowling. Despite the injury he bowled, with a boost from the crowd and in his very next over victimized William Perkins who was starting to look good and middle the ball.

1^st factor:  Kanon Cooper in the latter overs provided the West Indian champs the satisfactory score as the last five overs yielded 49 runs and also delivered the much needed momentum to come out and defend it.

2^nd factor:  Overdoing of anything spoils it. The defending champions tried to play the kangaroo way given the fact that they possess Mr. Cricket Michael Hussey in their ranks. On a slow track, 20 in 2 overs was a striking start. Vijay and the top order showcased a lazy and unprofessional approach to the situation and could have played more maturely

3^rd factor:  SUNIL NARINE. Yes, the man himself turned the match upside down even though his bowling action caught the attention of my suspicious mind. He made the ball spin both ways and the slow Chennai track gave him the perfect environment to flourish. “The bowling actions were hard to pick up and the muddy ball made things more difficult” said MS Dhoni, maintaining an honest smile.

4^th factor: 7 of 22 balls! Seems like a solid start to a test innings of an individual but these were the figures that were displayed in front of his name when Dhoni was walking back after failing in an effort to drive the ball down the ground for a boundary. This again shows the sticky nature of the pitch that grips the ball longer and makes life miserable even for a devastating batsman like Dhoni. The Ranchi boy’s fan must have been pleased at least for a moment when he tried the helicopter shot but straight to the bowler

5^th factor: Not much was left to explain after Morkel hit the last two balls for mammoth sixes that almost travelled to the Bay of Bengal and kicked the ground as though pointing it to the management that if they could have sent him up the order the match would have been long over in favor of the home team. The nature of the pitch does not matter when the ball pitches a meter in front of you, it was demonstrated by the clean hitting of the Proteas all-rounder.

Let’s hope the men in yellow plays like champions and display their potentials as a team in their next clash against New South Wales Blues.

Tags: Champions League T20, Chennai Super Kings, CLT20 2011, CSK, Michael Hussey, T&T, Trinidad & Tobago