IPL 2019: Match 23, CSK vs KKR – Chennai Super Kings Player Ratings

Chennai Super Kings extended their dominating run in the 2019 edition of the IPL. The Men in Yellow returned home to their fortress to host the Kolkata Knight Riders in a marquee clash. For the second time in the season, the venue at Chennai provided a sluggish low-scoring match. The Knight Riders arrived at the venue riding on some good performances in their previous fixtures and were expected to give CSK a run for their money in the match.

Against the expectations, they proved to be of no competition to the well-balanced CSK lineup that registered a comfortable 7 wicket win. Talking about the proceedings of the match, the Chennai Super Kings won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first. It was a horrific start for KKR as they lost their in-form openers in the first two overs of the match. Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar bowled exceedingly well in the powerplay to keep things tight. They accounted for 5 wickets of the KKR lineup. Other bowlers chipped in well and KKR could never really get a move on. Andre Russell played an uncharacteristic yet effective knock of an unbeaten 50 to take his side to 108/9 in 20 overs.

In the run chase, CSK found a very able guide in the form of Faf du Plessis. Knowing that the run chase was not a big one, the South African veteran kept his calm to remain unbeaten on 43 as the Super Kings chased down the target in 17.2 overs. Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson played handy cameos to give him good company.

Here are the CSK Player Ratings for the match:

Shane Watson – 3/10

Shane Watson went all guns blazing when he walked in to bat in the run chase. He looked in some serious hurry when to chase down the modest total. Watson hit a six and a couple of fours during his 9 ball stay at the crease. He scored 17 before becoming the first wicket to fall down in the CSK lineup in the run chase.

Fas du Plessis – 9/10

Faf du Plessis showed great composure in the run chase. The wicket in Chennai was a very trick one to bat on and it needed something really special to hold on to the crease. Du Plessis did this with relative ease and remained unbeaten on 43 off 45 balls.  The innings might look very sluggish on the scorecard but that is what the situation demanded in the match. He hit just 3 fours during his stay at the crease.

Suresh Raina – 3/10

Suresh Raina walked in to bat after the dismissal of Shane Watson. Raina had his task cut out. All he needed to do was to nudge the ball around and play second fiddle to Faf du Plessis, who had got his eyes in. Much like Watson, even Raina tried to bail his way out of the shackles by attacking the bowlers. He succeeded in hitting a six and a four but was dismissed soon after. He could only score 14 in the match.

Ambati Rayudu – 3/10

Ambati Rayudu found it very tough to bat in the game. The good thing that Rayudu do was that he did not lose his patience too early when the runs did not come off easily. Rayudu consumed 31 deliveries for his 21 runs and his struggle at the crease was quite evident as well. He failed to get going and perished when CSK were 25 runs short of the target.

Kedar Jadhav – 5/10

Kedar Jadhav did not have a big role to play in the game. When he walked in to bat, Faf du Plessis had assumed his ascendency in the run chase and looked comfortable. Jadhav was happy to just tag along with an unbeaten 8 as his side cruised over the line in under 18 overs.

MS Dhoni – 7/10

The services of MS Dhoni were not needed in the match. But Dhoni as a wicketkeeper was phenomenal on the day. The way he stumped Shubman Gill showed his class and composure as the best wicketkeeper in the world cricket. Also, his captaincy was top notch in the game and he shuffled his bowlers very well to tame a very good batting lineup of KKR.

Ravindra Jadeja – 7/10

Ravindra Jadeja had a good game with the ball. He bowled his complete quota of overs and made full use of the spin friendly conditions. The batters found it very tough to get going when Jadeja was in the attack. In the four overs that he bowled, he gave away just 17 runs. He took the wicket of Prasidh Krishna in the end overs of the innings.

Harbhajan Singh – 9/10

Harbhajan Singh has been one of the top performers for the Chennai Super Kings this season. The veteran offie has been bowling tremendously well and that too, in the power play. Harbhajan bowled in the powerplay yet again and was very effective on the day. He picked up the wicket of dangerous Sunil Narine in his very first over. He later bagged the wicket of Piyush Chawla as well in his second spell. He was the most economical bowler for his side with figures of 2/15 in his four overs.

Deepak Chahar – 9.5/10

Deepak Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for CSK in the match. He started off the match with four dots to Chris Lynn, and then got rid of Lynn on the fifth delivery. He ran through the KKR top order by then dismissing Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana. Chahar’s brilliance with the new ball set the tone for CSK’s dominion in the game. He finished with exceptional figures of 3/20 in his four overs.

Scott Kuggeleijn – 2/10

The Kiwi speedster had a night to forget. It was a wicket that aided the bowlers big time, and almost every bowler made merry on this wicket. Perhaps, this was not good enough for the pace of Kuggeleijn. He was the most expensive bowler for his side and was taken away for 34 runs in his four overs.

Imran Tahir – 8/10

Imran Tahir had a good game with the ball. The veteran leg spinner made sure that he used the conditions to his merit. He varied his pace and variations throughout his spell to keep the batters guessing. He accounted for two crucial wickets of Shubman Gill and Dinesh Karthik in the match. He finished with figures of 2/21 in his four overs.

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