Teams with fire to bounce back make it a Super Sunday

By K.R. Nayar

Fancied team Mumbai bows to Stokes’ ton and Samson’s half-century, while young Gaikwad’s fifty stops Bangalore

It was another Super Sunday in the Indian Premier League.  When teams on the verge of exit conquer fancied teams and end the match with their heads held high, it turns into one of the most exhilarating sights of the game.

In the first game, Chennai Super Kings who enjoy reminding fans never to write them off, did exactly that to outplay Royal Challenger Bangalore. In the second game, Rajasthan Royals lifted their game to such heights that they virtually shook the might and confidence of the table toppers and defending champions Mumbai Indians. The spirit in both teams to strike back was so strong that both won by an identical eight wickets margin.

If Chennai has the habit of bouncing back, Bangalore has the tendency to frequently falter. Both displayed their characteristics in this match. Chennai, who were written off as 'finished' after one of the most humiliating defeats to Mumbai on Friday, restricted the mighty Bangalore to 146 runs. They forced every batsman to struggle for runs on a slow wicket.  Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni intelligently used his variety of slow bowlers to choke the runs. Though Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli cracked a half-century, that could not take the team past the 150-run mark.

Chennai wanted one of their youngsters to shine and that was the reason behind keeping out their veteran opener Shane Watson. Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad showing no signs of getting dismissed for a duck in the last match against Mumbai Indians as he unleashed his strokes. This 23-year-old batsman’s skill and confidence reveal he is surely set to become one of India’s future stars.

In the second match, it was a run feast at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium with Mumbai posting a mammoth 195 for 5 in 20 overs.  After short knocks of around 40 runs by Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Saurabh Tiwary, then Hardik Pandya literally whipped the Rajasthan attack. Pandya's unbeaten 60 off just 21 balls with seven towering sixes made everyone wonder where he gets the power for such sixes with such a lean physique. Rahul Tewatia dropping Pandya on six proved too costly.

None believed that Rajasthan's batting, which has been patchy as yet, would successfully chase such a huge score. Ben Stokes showed why he is among the most feared T20 batsman in the world today through his unbeaten century. Sanju Samson’s unbeaten half-century was worth much more than the runs he scored.  Playing attacking cricket, Samson eased the pressure on Stokes to help him smoothly record his second IPL century and lift Rajasthan to the sixth slot in the points table.