On Monday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clashed with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their third match of the ongoing IPL at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
CSK comfortably beat the Jaipur-based franchise by 45 runs. CSK player Moeen Ali impressed everyone with his all-rounder performance and was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’.
Batting first, the MS Dhoni-led team put 188/9 on board in their allotted 20 overs. Moeen came in at no. 3 position and smashed a quickfire 26. The 33-year-old made it to the ‘fastest scorers of IPL since 2018’ list by firming his spot at the 7th position with a scoring rate of 9.3 runs per over.
Fastest scorers in IPL since start of 2018 (min 200 runs):
Russell – 10.95rpo
Narine – 10.4rpo
Hardik – 9.9rpo
De Villiers – 9.9rpo
Pooran – 9.8rpo
Pollard – 9.5rpo
Moeen – 9.3rpo#IPL2021 #CSKvRR— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 19, 2021
When asked about whether he’ll contend for the no.3 spot in the English national team, Moeen said that he is happy with his place for CSK and didn’t have any plans for his national team. He further added that there are more deserving batters, some of who are ranked at numero-uno in the ICC rankings.
“Not at all. I mean, the no.3 currently is the no.1 player in the world. We have many other good players who can also bat at 3,” Moeen said in the post-match press conference.
He further explained that his job at CSK is to score as many runs as possible and help them get off to good starts. The Worcestershire cricketer went on to add that he is comfortable up the order as he doesn’t try overhitting the ball.
“My job here (at CSK) is to try and score as many as I can for the team, and get us off to good starts. When I am up the order, I don’t try and overhit the ball. It was nice, wasn’t an easy wicket. We probable scored well in the end, but it was quite difficult initially,” explained Moeen.
The southpaw followed his brilliant batting performance with his stellar bowling performance. He took three prized wickets of David Miller, Riyan Parag, and Chris Morris, along with his teammate Ravindra Jadeja, who took two wickets.
Moeen attributed his success to a change in the ball. It all happened after Jos Buttler hit a Jadeja delivery into the stands, leading to a new drier ball. Talking about the same, the English cricketer added that the new ball was dry and it helped the spinners in bowling better.
“Yeah of course. I think the ball got changed and it was a bit drier. There was a little bit of dew. I thought it was a good wicket for both of us to bowl, there was some spin there. As long as you try and spin it, you always got a chance,” mentioned Moeen.
When asked which part of the game he enjoys the most, Moeen iterated that he wanted both. He was humble in pointing out that the end of Buttler’s innings coupled with the presence of two-left handers at the crease made it easier for him to bowl his right-handed off-spin and take wickets.
“Bit of both (on whether he liked his batting or bowling exploits more). The three wickets at the end, it depends on when you come onto bowl. I thought it was a fantastic time for me to come and bowl. Two left-handers in, and Jos Buttler just getting out. There’s a lot of credit in that as well. I thought as a team we played really well today, and everybody kind of contributed in their own way,” said Moeen.
