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El Clasico of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended up as a rather one-sided affair as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat the Mumbai Indians (MI) by seven wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, April 8.
Following the win, the Men in Yellow moved into the fourth spot in the IPL 2023 points table. They have four points from two games and a net run rate of 0.356. MI, on the other hand, are winless in their two matches and have a net run rate of -1.394.
Here are three players who flopped and two who starred in Match 12 of IPL 2023 between MI and CSK.
#5 Flop - Mohammad Arshad Khan
Mohammad Arshad Khan is an immensely talented cricketer. He can swing the new ball both ways and is a capable hitter as well. However, the young all-rounder endured a rough moment of awakening against CSK.
Promoted to No. 5, Arshad lasted just four balls, being trapped in front by the wily Mitchell Santner. The left-hander was probably sent up the order to take on the duo of Santner and Ravindra Jadeja but failed to complete that task.
Unfortunately, things would get worse for Arshad in the second innings. Despite there being some assistance in the powerplay, the left-armer was picked apart by Ajinkya Rahane, who struck a six and four fours in a single over.
Arshad ended up with figures of 0/35 in just 2.1 overs.
#4 Star - Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja's batting has been rather insipid down the order, but his bowling seems to have upgraded itself this year. The left-arm spinner has been quite accurate and turned in his best performance of the season thus far against MI.
Jadeja first cramped Ishan Kishan for room, forcing the keeper-batter into a pull shot that settled into the long-on's hands. He would dismiss another southpaw six overs later, trapping Tilak Varma with one that spun back in.
Between those two dismissals that broke the back of MI's innings in the middle overs, Jadeja grabbed a stunning reflex return catch to send back Cameron Green. He finished with figures of 3/20 and walked away with the Player of the Match award.
#3 Flop - Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav's form has dwindled a touch over the last couple of months. He came into IPL 2023 on the back of a horror ODI series against Australia and his uncertainties seem to have carried over into the prestigious shortest-format tournament.
Suryakumar scored just one run against the Super Kings. He gloved a Santner delivery that was way down the leg-side, with MS Dhoni snaffling a superb take behind the stumps. The batter's dismissal left MI at 67/3, having lost Kishan just an over earlier.
Big guns like Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan haven't been consistent for quite some time now, and Suryakumar can't afford to add to MI's problems.
#2 Star - Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane knew that he'd be playing at his domestic home ground just ahead of the toss. However, the veteran batter stepped up to the plate.
Rahane smacked the second-fastest fifty by a CSK batter in IPL history off just 19 balls. He carted the MI bowlers to all corners of the ground, combining elegance with timing in a superb display of batting. The 34-year-old struck seven fours and three sixes in his 27-ball 61.
Rahane also took a sharp catch in the deep. It was overall an excellent debut in yellow for the experienced campaigner.
#1 Flop - Devon Conway
Devon Conway's performances have oscillated between superb and sub-par in CSK's three IPL 2023 matches thus far. A common denominator in his failures has been the movement extracted by the opposition pacers in the powerplay.
Jason Behrendorff was always going to test both of Conway's edges. The Aussie left-armer had the Chennai opener in all sorts of trouble before forcing him to chop on in a rather common dismissal.
Conway is an excellent player of spin and is undoubtedly a key cog in the CSK setup. But he's turning out to be a real liability when the ball moves around, and the Men in Yellow might have to consider other options at the top with another failure or two away from home.
