Punjab Kings bowler Rahul Chahar celebrates after taking the wicket of Shivam Dube during the Indian Premier League 2024 match in Dharamsala on May 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Even as Chennai Super Kings brought its IPL campaign back on track with a 28-run win against Punjab Kings, concerns remained over its middle-order.

At one stage of the game, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell bossed the PowerPlay and it seemed CSK was on course for a 200-plus total, but a middle-order debacle halted the team’s run flow.

However, CSK bowling coach Eric Simons wasn’t too concerned about the middle-order failure and hoped things would get better in the upcoming fixtures. “I think we won’t be over-concerned about the middle-order. We know the quality is there and it might not have happened in this game. But as we move forward, we hope to fire again,” Simons said after the game on Sunday.

It was the second time in a row that Shivam Dube fell for a golden duck, but the seasoned coach backed the India international. “I don’t think that’s a problem when you have a blip once or twice. That (middle-order) has been our strength. Dube has been incredible but he got out early twice now and that happens. The guys fought hard on the other side and got us to a decent total that we could defend,” Simons said.

“We had a few injury issues, and working away from the initial 11-12 has been important. So, for someone like Samarjeet to come in and do what he did tonight was very important. It was obviously his first game and the nerves were there. To get the wickets that did was magical. So, it’s important to make sure that the whole squad is ready because we never know when we are gonna call them.”

Chennai Super Kings Ravindra Jadeja plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on May 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Chennai Super Kings’ all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja admitted that they fell short by 15-20 runs but lauded their disciplined bowling show in securing a convincing 28-run over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League in Dharamsala on May 5.

Defending 167 for nine, the five-time champions restricted Punjab Kings to 139/9 with Jadeja claiming a match-winning 3/20, while Tushar Deshpande (2/35) and impact sub Simarjeet Singh (2/16) also featured among wickets.

Mitchell Santner, who was playing his first match of the season, was also brilliant during his tidy 1/10 from three overs.

“We thought we were 15-20 runs short but we did not bowl loose balls in the power play and in the middle overs,” Jadeja said at the post-match presentation.

“The fast bowlers bowled well in the power play. Tushar got two important wickets and then Mitch and me did the job in the middle overs.”

Jadeja struck a crucial 26-ball 43 and the knock came at a time when PBKS were chipping away with regular wickets.

Jadeja said it was tricky batting in the middle overs.

“It was a day game, so the wicket was slow. As usual, it was expected because it was so hot.

“It (the pitch) always seems flat in the power play. But when the ball gets old, it does not always come on. When playing at a new venue, you don’t know how much it will turn or stop.

“My role as a batter is to build partnerships and then play the big shots towards the end. Sometimes, when we lose wickets in the power play, we do not get momentum. In the matches we win, we play all phases well,” said Jadeja.

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad made a 21-ball 32, while Daryl Mitchell looked in full flow in a 19-ball 30, taking the team to 60/1 in the power play.

Everyone believed that the wicket was slow and the ball was coming off slow. There was low bounce too. With the start we got, we could have pushed to 180-200. We lost wickets in consecutive balls and then felt 160-170 was probably ten odd runs short,” said Gaikwad.

It’s not too late for Simarjeet: Gaikwad

Simarjeet impressed with his pace after he came in as an Impact Player replacing Ajinkya Rahane.

“I don’t know what he is doing but in the pre-season we had, he was bowling at around 150s.

“We had Deepak (Chahar), Shardul (Thakur), Tushar (Deshpande) plus (Matheesha) Pathirana and Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman), so he did not get too many chances. Nothing is late, he got a game today.

“We were thinking of sending an impact batter but we thought the impact batter would score 10-15 runs but the bowler might get us two-three wickets,” Gaikwad said.