IPL 2018: Match 12, KXIP vs CSK - Rating of the Match

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took it deep and they had their skipper MS Dhoni in the middle but Mohit Sharma dramatically kept his cool and bowled perfect lines in the final over. Kings XI Punjab won the match by 4 runs but there was fear in their minds that the match could go out of their hands at any moment only because of one man Dhoni. However, the game was also in the headlines for Chris Gayle as he played an unbelievable knock in his comeback match.

Gayle storm hits CSK (63 off 33)

Chris Gayle’s inclusion in this game suddenly boosted the excitement meter of the cricket fans. When this man gets going, the World stops. The same happened in Mohali as the Universe Boss just went berserk after taking a couple of overs to get his eyes in. Harbhajan Singh was the first one to face the heat as he was smashed for a four and a huge maximum off back-to-back deliveries in the 4th over of the innings which got him into his groove.

Up next to come in the firing line was the young Deepak Chahar as Gayle aimed cow corner this time to send the ball into the stands off a length ball which met the middle of the bat disdainfully. The next one came in the same over as the pressure got to the youngster. This was literally hammered over long-on for a huge six and the spectators fastened their seatbelts for a humdinger show on the night.

Interestingly, the big man was also taking quick singles which indicated that he was eager to stay in the middle and play a big knock for his team. Gayle hit more fours than sixes which was yet another surprising element of his innings as he also minimised risks. There were fierce cuts, back foot punches, front foot smashes as he unfurled all his shots to bring joy to the faces of the cricket fans. Though he got out for 63, the knock instilled fears in the minds of the CSK bowlers while he was in the middle.

Ashwin – The Skipper

R Ashwin’s appointment as the skipper of the KXIP side had raised a lot of eyebrows initially. But the way he has led his side has been admirable. Ever since the first game, he has been proactive at the helm making bowling changes actively and most importantly leading from the front. In this game, he bowled like a leg-spinner and scalped the most important wicket of Sam Billings who was the match-winner in the last game for CSK.

He is often criticised for his slow fielding but seems to have shrugged off a little bit of that in this game surely. Ambati Rayudu smashed the ball to extra-cover where Ashwin was stationed even as there was a mix-up between him and MS Dhoni. The skipper sensed the moment and fired in a throw which was a direct-hit sensationally which caught the batsman. He even kept his cool in the penultimate over to take the catch of Ravindra Jadeja.

Dhoni – The Man

MS Dhoni came in to bat with his team in tatters at 56/3 in the 7th over. He started off with a bang but the spinners squeezed him up once again but the cool and calm man didn’t give his wicket away. The pressure went on increasing over by over but Dhoni soaked in all the pressure for his team as the Rayudu and Jadeja got out in the process. But the way he launched an assault on the bowlers in the final four overs was absolutely outrageous. Yes, he took it deep but the man took the responsibility upon himself to win the game for his side.

Through the pain in his back, he kept on smashing the bowlers who missed the length as the pressure was always on the bowler. Mohit Sharma and Andrew Tye were in the firing line in the 18th and 19th over as the game down to the last over. But the former kept his cool and bowled well in the last over only to deny the calm and cool man all the glory. Though his knock won the hearts of everyone with his 79 runs in which he smacked 4 fours and 5 sixes and the last ball six finished at the wrong end which is very rare.

Here’s CricTracker’s rating of the match: