Gujarat Lions vs Rising Pune Supergiants: A Chennai Super Kings Derby

By: Sandipan Bose

Even though Chennai Super Kings has ceased to be, the media can’t help but see the approaching Pune Supergiants versus Gujarat Lions match as a CSK versus CSK contest.

Erstwhile CSK players – who were a tightly bonded unit and played like champions to make the defunct team the most consistent side in the IPL – have been roughly divided between these two teams.

Just imagine the team CSK had – from MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon McCullum to Suresh Raina. The same set of players were the main performers of the match on Thursday evening in Rajkot.

Barring Dhoni, Faf and R Ashwin, the rest of the four former CSK players are with the Gujarat team. Come to think of it, the Supergiants lost the match in the middle-over when another former CSK player Jadeja rolled his arm.

The left-arm spinner, Jadeja, also the local hero, conceded only three runs from his last two overs. This was the least number of runs given by any bowler in the death over of the IPL.

He finished his four-over spell after giving away 18 runs, which included two scalps to his credit. It also turned the game in favour of the Gujarat team as the Supergiants were set for a score of no more than 180 plus.

Towards the end, Dhoni did play a cameo, but it wasn’t enough to compile a bigger score. The Supergiants suffered a set-back when Gujarat got off to a rousing start to begin the chase competitively. McCullum and his opening partner, Aaron Finch, batted with plenty of authority to start the innings on an auspicious note.

From there on, Gujarat was in cruise control. Not even Dhoni could halt their winning march. But he will get another chance in the second leg of the tournament when his team shall take on Gujarat. That’s another CSK vs CSK match to watch out for!