It’s an old saying in cricket that catches win matches. But if an impossible catch is taken, it can really turn the table. Something of that sort happened at the Chepauk stadium on Sunday evening. While chasing Chennai Super Kings’ 157, the Rajasthan Royals were in the process of recovering after losing two early wickets.
Their experienced batsman Shane Watson was at the crease and looking set for a big score just when he played a lofted drive in the air off Ravindra Jadeja. This became the best moment of the game.
It seemed that the ball was easily crossing over the boundary rope when Dwayne Bravo pulled an absolute blinder. The West Indies all-rounder timed his jump perfectly. Then, he stretched his right hand to pluck the ball.
Watson was out. It was an unbelievable scene. It appeared to be a game-changer. Later, this catch indeed changed the complexion of the match and CSK emerged as the winners by 12 runs over the Royals.
Watson, incidentally, was the highest scorer for the Royals while CSK’s Jadeja was adjudged the man of the match for a dream spell of bowling. He took four wickets and conceded only 11 runs from his quota of four overs. Medium-pacer Mohit Sharma also took three important wickets to complement Jadeja’s magical performance.
CSK did everything right in this game to become the table-toppers once again. They won the toss and promptly opted to bat on a wicket, which had something for the spinners. But CSK opener Brendon McCullum showed that he is not only an impact player on quick wickets, but can also master the art of playing big strokes on slow tracks.
McCullum along with Faf Du Plessis built the CSK innings brick by brick after the home team lost Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina early. Captain MS Dhoni too played a cameo towards the end of the CSK innings. For the Royals, Chris Morris was the best bowler and kept his opponent guessing. In the end, CSK took a sweet revenge after they had lost to the Royals by eight wickets earlier this season.
