The Indian Premier League (IPL) was supposed to kick off from March 29 this year, but due to coronavirus spread, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to postpone the 13th edition of the cash-rich league for an indefinite time.
There is no doubt that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is one of the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won three titles so far and have qualified for the playoffs in every season they played in the lucrative league.
The first title triumph for CSK came in 2010 under the inspiring leadership of former India skipper MS Dhoni. They defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) in the final at DY Patil Stadium. Batting first CSK posted 168/5 on the scoreboard, thanks to Suresh Raina who played an unbeaten 35-ball 57 run innings.
But how did Dhoni managed to win the contest? Well, former CSK spinner Shadab Jakati, who was a part of the squad in 2010, has now revealed the secret behind CSK’s famous victory.
Defending the not so big score, CSK had a terrific start as pacer Doug Bollinger removed attacking opener Shikhar Dhawan for a duck. However, MI did make a comeback, especially after the Mumbai-based franchise took 21 runs from Jakati’s first two overs.
“I had gone for 21 runs in my first two overs. With left-hander Abhishek Nayar batting, Dhoni told me I’d now bowl in the middle overs,” said Jakati as quoted by Wisden.
Mi skipper Sachin Tendulkar had a brilliant run in the third edition of the cash-rich league and as long as he was alive on the crease the threat of losing the game for CSK was always active. But Dhoni had some other plans as he made a perfect strategy to dismiss the ‘Master Blaster’.
MSD gave the ball to Jakati who was expensive already, but this plot worked, and the spinner got rid of Tendulkar. After sending the iconic batsman into the dugout, Jakati came in a fantastic rhythm as in the same over he got the better of Saurabh Tiwary as well.
“[He kept] me for the right-handers – Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard. We had done our homework against MI’s right-handers, who were potentially weak against left-arm spinners,” Jakati added.
Mumbai’s power-hitter Kieron Pollard did produce some late fireworks, but it wasn’t enough to take his side over the line. MI could only reach 146/9 and lost the contest by 22 runs.
Raina was declared ‘Player of the Match’ while Tendulkar with 618 runs in the season grabbed the ‘Player of the Series’ award.
