Rajasthan Royals ring more alarm bells for Chennai Super Kings

Hangman Hasaranga

Wanindu Hararanga exudes a monkish calm in the direst of situations. Where lesser-willed men sense danger, he sniffs an opportunity; when the tide seems to turn against him, he merely decides to change the course of the current himself. His performance in Guwahati was not ripped from the leg-spinner’s book of marvel. He is more of a utilitarian than an ethereal spinner. He doesn’t trade magic ball, does not fill the audience with awe, but does just enough to grab wickets and thus win the game.
The see-sawing match seemed to take a decisive shift towards Chennai when Ruturaj Gaikwad, the tireless captain, heaved him for a six in the 16th over, and his last. The next ball was slower and loopier and Gaikwad could fetch it only as far as long-on. The match swung for the one last time in the night.
Before the defining moment in CSK’s fundamentally flawed chase, with only Gaikwad and Shivam Dube displaying the knowhow to overhaul a competitive than daunting total, Hasaranga had inflicted three other crucial blows to CSK’s victory hopes. The first was to end the shaky stay of Rahul Tripathi, the short ball holding up on the surface. The next two were more influential in deciding the match’s outcome. The rampaging Dube smeared him nonchalantly over long-on. But next ball, he again slowed down and gave more flight. Dube’s mishit towards cover seemed to fall safely inside the inner circle before home-boy Riyan Parag hurled forward and got his right palm under the ball. The wicket arrived just when CSK were regathering some momentum, at 72/2 in 9.2 overs, from a horrible 5 for 1 in three overs. The next over, he snuck one through the welcoming gate of Vijay Shankar’s defence.

Captain Riyan Parag replies with a fantastic catch 🤯#CSK lose Shivam Dube in the chase

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It was a night when Royals fielders clung onto their catches as though their life depended on them. Later, Shimron Hetmyer lunged forward to clasp another catch before it brushed the grass to stub the flickering embers of a CSK heist. But for the win they owe a note of gratitude to the perennially understated Nitish Rana.

Rampaging Rana

Rana reproduced the cradle celebration made famous by Brazil striker Bebeto in the 1994 World Cup to rejoice his half-century, born off only 21 balls and completed inside the power-play. He then blew a kiss towards the gallery. The celebration, he would say, was directed towards his wife, expecting their second child. The stroke that ushered in his milestone was worthy of the moment and symbolic of the sinister touch he exuded all knock along. The ball from Khaleel Ahmed was short of length, just out the off-stump, and he just coaxed it up and over the point fielder for an effortless four.

He continued the celebratory fireworks of the night with a thunderous pull the next ball. He lasted 14 more balls, but after essaying an array of gorgeous strokes and taking the match beyond CSK’s grasp. He thumped Ravichandran Ashwin over extra cover for a four, before driving Noor Ahmad, inside-out, through covers. Ashwin was plundered for 10 more runs in two balls before his own impetus became too untameable that he gifted his wicket to the masterful off-spinner, who paused in his release to read the batsman’s intentions and bowled one far beyond the reach of his out-stretched arms.

𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐚 😎

A beautiful innings of 81(36) comes to an end 👏👏

Nitish Rana thoroughly entertained tonight with his exquisite range of batting 💫

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It was Rana’s first folly of the night wherein he reinforced his value for the umpteenth time. A bulwark for KKR for much of his IPL career, his unassuming manners makes him a figure too easy to forget. A short, nuggety left-hander in the Gautam Gambhir mould, he doesn’t brandish raw power or stupefying pyrotechnics. Rather, he is a batsman who plays within the outer reaches of his talents and maximising his gifts.

The 32-year-old bats as though in a self-imposed cage. He doesn’t shuffle too much across; doesn’t move around much in the crease, doesn’t overtly stretch his short stride forward. He moves back, waits for the ball to reach him and plays the ball as late as he possibly could. He lulls bowlers into assuming that the ball is past him or that he would be late onto the ball. But from nowhere he pounces. At the last moment; at the right time, at the right place. He laced a couple of exquisite ramps, arching his body and just gliding the ball over the keeper or just wide.

Against the spinners, he summoned his muscly sweeps and slog-sweeps. Ashwin felt the sting of his sweep as thrice he swept him in as many balls, yielding him a pair of sixes and a four. He granted Royals the inspiration their rusty batting required. None of their regular engines — Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer — have heated up, and they seemed headed for another humiliation but for Rana’s rampage.

Take his turbocharger out and the innings crumble. He nearly accounted for half their runs, consuming just one fourth of the balls. A numerical breakdown captures the full picture. Rana: 81 off 36 balls; rest: 101 off 84 balls. And he made the knock look as easy as rocking a cradle.