Indians storm Fort Chennai

Precisely at that moment Dhoni might have realised the reign of Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram stadium was coming to an end. The eight-match streak ended 2.5 overs later when Harbhajan Singh swiped Doug Bollinger to mid-wicket for a single as Mumbai Indians recorded a three-wicket win.

Super Kings were invincible throughout the IPL IV here, warding off opponents with skill and fortune. The return to home ground might have been hugely comforting for Dhoni after the disastrous tour of England. After all, he was coming to a venue where his team was seldom defeated over the four IPL editions, and Mumbai Indians were without a few prominent names because of injuries.  

So, Dhoni’s hopes of tasting a win after two and half months were not illogical, but all he could manage on a humid Saturday night was to stand at the post-match presentation, and accept the blame, and nobody will remember his otherwise good day behind the stumps.

Dhoni’s mind might also have been a kaleidoscope through which he saw the pictures of some stirring fightbacks his side made in the IPL IV. They were in a similar situation against Kolkata Knight Riders, with offie Suraj Randiv leaking runs in the penultimate over. But they had Tim Southee, who bowled a brilliant final over to rescue them.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala had blown away the big names in their top order, but Wriddhiman Saha produced a bruising knock that led the Super Kings to a match-winning total. But there were no miracles this day.

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati, who had a few memorable spells for CSK, floundered against Malinga, conceding two sixes in the 16th over to signal Mumbai’s comeback. Dhoni had explanation for using Jakati in place of Suresh Raina, who bowled an excellent spell (2-0-6-0). The Indian captain thought Jakati would be more useful as he can turn the ball away from the right-handers – Malinga and Harbhajan – whereas Raina’s off-spin would have given the batsmen a chance for on-side slogs. But such cricketing logics, however, bright they may sound, hardly work when tail-enders throw their bat around.

In such situations, you need bowlers with cool head, and Jakati was obviously a wrong choice. Doug Bollinger is usually a parsimonious customer, especially at the death overs. When the Australian left-arm quick came to bowl the last over, Mumabi needed 11 runs. But Bollinger lost his radar, and conceded two boundaries in the final over. The eight-match streak of Chennai was an incredible one for it was based on sheer planning and calculations.

Among all the IPL teams, Super Kings have the most balanced side – batsmen, international and local, suited to big hits, bowlers who can curb runs at any stage of a match, some excellent fielders, a shrewd coach, and a captain cooler than the Arctic temperature.

But none of these factors helped them when Malinga, who till then had scored just 76 runs in T20 matches, suddenly discovered the efficiency of the batsman inside him.
Somebody had to give an excuse, and Raina did it. "It wasn't a case of complacency. We certainly thought we were going to win the match, after we dismissed Pollard. But we didn’t bowl in the good areas, and we will look to bounce back.”

They can bounce back, but the Malinga inflicted wound will pain till then.