A familiar vibe about CSK last night. ©BCCI/IPL
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Monday, May 2
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Last night at the IPL...

MS Dhoni recorded his 131st victory as captain of the Chennai Super Kings, having taken over the reins of a side he'd recently handed over to Ravindra Jadeja before the start of the season.There was the all-too familiar vibe to CSK with their 'Thala' reinstated. The opening combo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway found their touch in a 182-run opening stand. Gaikwad, last year's Orange Cap winner, made 99 off 57 while the New Zealander hit 85* off 55 despite a more sedate start. SRH got a big knock from Nicholas Pooran but fell to their second loss in Pune after conceding a 200+ total. However, they remain in the Playoffs position and the small margin of defeat (13 runs) meant their NRR (+0.471) didn't go plummeting either.

Points Table || Report

"I think Jadeja knew last season that he would be captaining this year. For the first two games, I simply oversaw his work and let him be later. After that, I insisted that he take his own decisions and bear responsibility for them. Once you become captain, it means a lot of demands come in. But it affected his mind as the tasks grew. I think captaincy burdened his prep and performances"
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That was Dhoni in an insightful chat at the presentation ceremony about the pressures of captaincy and how it affected Ravindra Jadeja.

LSG do the double over DC

"We are going to bat first. Looks a good wicket, put some runs on the board and defend it," said KL Rahul at the toss and he and his team did just that. Rahul moved to 451 runs for the season with a fine 55-ball 71 and an equally brisk 52 from Deepak Hooda, their latest No.3, took the total to 195. A lot of DC batters, including Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Rovman Powell and Axar Patel, got starts in the chase but none could convert into a sizeable contribution and the Capitals fell short by six runs with Mohsin Khan impressing again with the ball with match-winning figures of 4 for 16.

Report || Scorecard

Social Tattle: The No.3 roulette

Wasim JafferWasim Jaffer
@wasimJaffer14FollowBit of musical chairs this season for LSG no.3 spot, but I think in @HoodaOnFire they've found a long term solution. Impressive how he's taken on a more responsible batting position without sacrificing his natural attacking game 👌🏽 #LSGvDC #IPL2022
01 May 2022
4416 67
A season of what-ifs

Mitchell Marsh had hit 37 off 19 before he appeared to have nicked K Gowtham to the 'keeper. He walked without bothering about a referral but replays later showed a flat line as the ball passed bat. James Hopes said Marsh "was adamant that he got a feather on it". It encapsulated DC's season of what-ifs. What if Nortje had been bowling fit? What if Marsh hadn't picked up that injury in Pakistan? What if there was no Covid outbreak in the squad? It's a list that has neither complicated nor straightforward answers. Delhi's up and down season has been a direct result of unfavourable answers to a lot of key questions. More on that here as they remain in Playoffs hunt despite the latest reversal.

On today's menu

Rajasthan Royals are in touching distance of a top-two position and in that quest of theirs the defeat to stragglers Mumbai Indians was most inopportune. Tonight at the Wankhede Stadium, they are up against another struggling side, Kolkata Knight Riders, who find themselves at the opposite end of the standings with no clarity on personnel or combination just yet. These two sides played out a thriller last time around. Remember that Yuzvendra Chahal over? What does this game have in store?

Sunday, May 1
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'W', at the ninth time of trying

Rohit Sharma may have been dismissed for 2 but on his 35th birthday, Mumbai Indians avoided the ignominy of equalling the longest losing streak in the IPL. Their first win of IPL 2022, against the hi-flying Rajasthan Royals, was setup by an excellent bowling performance led by 24-year-old debutant Kumar Kartikeya, whose left-arm spin froze Royals' progress through the middle overs. Jos Buttler made 67 off 52 but had been kept down to 43 off 46 before he unshackled himself in one Hrithik Shokeen over. Notwithstanding his four sixes, the Royals were kept down to 158, a score rendered under-par by the presence of dew. A 39-ball 51 from Suryakumar Yadav allayed any fears of another batting implosion for the five-time champions.

Scorecard || Report

Tattle: Very much part of the ride

Jofra ArcherJofra Archer
@JofraArcherFollowOff the mark boyssssssss
30 Apr 2022
35893 1976
RCB's mid-season muddle

Where MI won their first game in nine, at the other end of the standings, Gujarat Titans made it 8 out of 9 with a clinical chase against RCB, consigning their opponents to a third straight defeat and rocking their playoffs bound boat sideways. Virat Kohli ended his run drought with a half-century but his under-powered 58 off 53 didn't exactly help the team's cause as they posted a subpar score of 170. The bowlers led by Wanindu Hasaranga kept the Titans in check but the pair of Rahul Tewatia and David Miller aced another tricky finish.

Report || Points table

"I felt that we felt executed our plans pretty well to him. There was one point of time where he was in the zone and looking to rotate the strike. Our bowlers did well there and got in a few dot balls. That helped us as the momentum kind of broke there. Our bowlers managed to keep things tight and ensured that Virat couldn't get into his rhythm. At the toss, if I had to take 171, I would have taken it"
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^^ That is Hardik Pandya on keeping Virat Kohli quiet despite his half-century. What's up with Kohli, you ask. This detailed piece from Deepu Narayanan should give you most of the answers.

Jadeja hands CSK captaincy back to Dhoni

It's been a curiously unstable season for four-time champions CSK, who announced last night that MS Dhoni will take over as captain once more. In a statement it was revealed that Ravindra Jadeja decided to relinquish the position he'd inherited days before the start of IPL 2022 "to focus and concentrate more on his game". He has 112 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 121.73, and five wickets at 42.60 with an economy rate of 8.19. It is understood, that the decision was not a mutual arrangement between Jadeja and Dhoni and that it may have included a move from the management as well. More on that here...

Task for the new (old) captain...

... would be to ensure the season doesn't fizzle out. Mathematically, CSK are not out of a Playoffs berth but that is a long shot. A winning run from here though should assuage some of the stress of this season. First up for captain Dhoni is a game against one of the form teams of the tournament, SRH. Interestingly enough, SRH's run of wins this season had begun in the reverse fixture against CSK. They fell a little short against Gujarat Titans last time around and will be eager to get back to winning ways. Full preview, here.

Feature Interview: Aiden Markram

One of the stars of SRH's season so far has been the South African who has adapted to his middle-order role superbly. In this telling interview with Narbavi Rajendran, Markram opens up on learning the ropes of middle-order batting from Mark Boucher, imroving his game against spin, conversations with KL Rahul and so much more.

Wait, we're not done for the day...

The first afternoon game at the Wankhede this season will provide Delhi Capitals with a chance to take another step up in the standings in a clash against the Lucknow Super Giants. It's been a topsy turvy season for them that has gone WLLWLWLW, not always due to their troubles on the field. Now, they seem to have all the personnel back and available. If one of them can step up the way Kuldeep Yadav has, they should be a strong force in the run. Full preview of the game, here.