IPL: Jadeja, Bravo star in Chennai Super Kings' victory over Deccan Chargers

Chennai Super Kings have been a slow starters and they proved it once again when MS Dhoni & Co. registered an emphatic win against Deccan Chargers on Saturday. Replying to Chennai’s stiff 193/6, Hyderabad were bundled out for 119 in 17.1 overs to hand Chennai a morale boosting 74-run win, writes The Times Of India. The Hyderabad batsmen tried to make a match of the game but they failed to mount a meaningful assault.

"Ravindra Jadeja, who had struck a 29-ball 48, scalped 5/16 in four overs to cap a fine day for himself and his team. It was the left-arm spinner’s maiden five-wicket haul in IPL. With both skippers wanting to chase under the lights, it seemed to be a good toss to win for Hyderabad. Skipper White said he opted to field first because there had been some dew around in the evenings leading up to this game. But in the end it didn’t really matter as the Chennai batsmen took the game away from their rivals even before a ball was bowled in the second innings," adds TOI.

Faf du Plessis gave the early momentum with his 39 off 25 balls. A four off Manpreet Gony followed by two sixes over deep mid-wicket and into the stands behind long-off shattered the pacer's confidence, writes The Hindu.

"The scoreboard kept ticking even as Suresh Raina fell to Daniel Christian. Du Plessis left trying to repeat one of his huge hits into the stands. Then it was Jadeja's turn to get the runs at a fast clip. Two sixes in an Ankit over and two fours off Christian showed the young all-rounder's mettle. He had made 48 off 29 balls when, while attempting to pull, he backed up too much and trod on his stumps. Then came Bravo's bludgeoning effort that saw five huge sixes, T.P. Sudhindra and Gony getting the treatment."

According to a report in Indian Express, during the February auction, the Deccan Chargers were one amongst the three IPL sides that bid furiously for the services of Ravindra Jadeja. "While they kept abreast until the $ 1.5 million mark, they dropped out soon after, watching the Chennai Super Kings drain their season five purse of $ 2 million for the all-rounder from Saurashtra. On Saturday, Deccan paid the difference. First, he top-scored for a wobbly Chennai, stabilising the first innings with a 29-ball 48, helping MS Dhoni’s side post a match-winning total of 193 runs from 20 overs. From 75/3 in 10 overs, Jadeja broke through the Deccan shackles with three sixes and as many fours, before Dwayne Bravo did more of the same by smacking 43 runs from 18 balls. Then, his left-arm spin defanged the Deccan chase, with five wickets for 14 runs from his quota of four overs," writes Indian Express.

In the process, Chennai hammered the hosts by 74 runs, a startling margin in T20 cricket. Deccan were bowled out for 119 in 17.1 overs, with only Shikhar Dhawan, Cameron White and Parthiv Patel managing to register scores of 20s. 

Meanwhile according to a report in HT, the IPL after-parties might be back in the fifth edition after being scrapped from the menu last year. According to reports quoting BCCI sources, individual franchisees may host the parties this year unlike previous editions when the IPL governing council organised these events.

“These parties will not be held after every match but only on selected days,” said the reports. It was also reported that the franchisees are looking to sell a limited number of club lounge or VIP tickets at each venue. The IPL parties were scrapped last year by the then IPL chief Chirayu Amin after Lalit Modi’s exit.