Gony and Ntini came up with an inspired spell as hoped for.. I did not think KXIP’s batting would collapse as much as it did . Some reasons why maybe.
- CSK/Dhoni made sure CSK were tagged as the underdogs so all the pressure was on KXIP.
- The game between KXIP-RR, gave the KXIP a little bit of false confidence.
- CSK having played several pressure matches in the last few games.
- Starting with Murali – though it did not work, was a good move.
- Great bowling by Ntini/Gony leveraging RR’s strategy from the previous game.
- Continuing to bowl out Ntini/Gony – Dhoni going for the kill and maintaining the pressure.
- Employing a short mid on by Dhoni/Ntini against Marsh (got the wicket right away) – inspired?
- The game against RCB – so that we got out the complacence during the chase.
Things that surprised me during the CSK innings about Yuvraj’s captaincy.
- Why did Sreesanth bowl only one over?
- Why did Yuvraj not crowd the batsmen, have more attacking field when Piyush and Powar were bowling?
- They seemed to have given up the match after their batting. Even RCB showed more spunk.
Hats off to Kumar Sangakkara – seriously deserves a fair play award.
Congrats to the CSK team and looking forward to the finals!
