Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag went on to compare Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with Australia after their win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi. He said the opponents would need to be at their best for the entire match to defeat the MS Dhoni-led side.
On Sunday (September 26), CSK secured their third consecutive victory in the IPL 2021 second phase to almost seal their spot in the playoffs. Batting first, KKR scored 171/6 in 20 overs and made CSK struggle to chase down the target.
But eventually, the batting depth of the Super Kings helped them secure their 8th win of the tournament by 2 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja scored 22 runs in 8 deliveries to take them over the line, after a contribution from Ruturaj Gaikwad (40), Faf du Plessis (43), and Moeen Ali (32).
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“They made a statement right after arriving in the UAE as they won third game on the trot. It’s a known fact that if CSK are unbeatable when they play well. However, bowling has been their weak link. Like we saw today. They could have restricted KKR to 150-160 odd runs but, they conceded 171.
“If they bat first and score 160-170 runs then may find it difficult to defend the total because they don’t have any variety in their bowling, neither the have any mystery spinner. So, that’s what I feel, the problem is. Otherwise, they have so much depth in their batting. Shardul comes in at no. 9 or 10. If you promote him up in the order, he will definitely score like a proper batter, like he did in England,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
At one stage, Kolkata were 125/5 in 16.4 runs and they went on to add another 46 runs in the last 20 balls. Sam Curran conceded 56 runs in his four overs without picking up a wicket.
“The biggest challenge remains when they would bat first. It has to be seen how they play then. Everyone knows CSK is much better and you can’t have an easy win against them. You have to toil hard for the entire game. Like we say, when you face Australia, you need to play good cricket for the entire 40 overs. The same thing goes while playing against CSK,” he added.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
