Kamal Ghorui
CHENNAI: The Chennai Super Kings vibe is back. New star recruit Sanju Samson is up and running, the bowling attack suddenly has found its rhythm and the crazy fans have now experienced that winning feeling at home after six back-to-back defeats at the Chepauk.The 23-run win over Delhi Capitals on Saturday — CSK’s first of this season — did have its share of scares, especially when Tristan Stubbs was going great guns towards the end and had got the target down to 32 off the last two overs. But medium-pacer Jamie Overton (4/18) carried on with his superb work for the day to remove Stubbs at the right moment, ensuring CSK got home.Before that, a 60-run opening stand by KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka too threatened to take the game away from CSK. But a collapse fashioned by pacemen Khaleel Ahmed, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj and Overton pegged DC back at 76/4, with Sarfaraz Khan’s stunning catch at point to send Axar Patel back also demanding a special mention.The game, however, will be remembered for Samson’s first step at becoming Chepauk’s ‘ chettan ’ Super King. His 115 not out off 56 balls and the 113-run second-wicket stand with Ayush Mhatre (59 off 36 balls) gave CSK the perfect platform to set a formidable target.Sanju gave himself a little bit of time at the start and chose not to go too hard. He looked to time the ball and wait for opportunities instead of looking for big sixes. His half-century came off 26 balls but at that stage, he hadn’t hit a single six. Instead, the right-hander chose to use his wrists, manoeuvre the ball into the gaps and get the nine 115* Unbeaten knock off 56 balls by Sanju Samson, the first hundred by a CSK wicketkeeper in the IPL. The previous highest was MS Dhoni’s 84 not out vs RCB in Bengaluru on April 21, 2019. boundaries that always kept the scoreboard moving.Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (15 off 18 balls) did struggle to get the run-rate going but Sanju did enough to keep the fans happy at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The Kerala cricketer, though, got a life at 52 when Pathum Nissanka dropped a relatively easy catch at longoff off the bowling of Axar Patel.But that was the only blemish in his innings and it gave him the confidence that it might well be his day. At the other end, he found a terrific ally in young Mhatre (59 off 36 balls). Through the middle-overs, the duo effortlessly shifted gears and kept coming up with the big hits just when it mattered.Mhatre got a life after he had crossed his half-century but CSK might have felt that they would have been better off if David Miller had accepted the chance at long-on.Mhatre struggled a bit against the slower balls and wide yorkers of Mukesh Sharma and Lungi Ngidi and in a two-over spell when CSK managed only 12 runs that stalled their march just a bit. It forced the team management to retire him out and allow Shivam Dube to come in to accompany Sanju as he completed his century with a boundary.
