Chennai: There were a few raised eyebrows when Chennai Super Kings decided to shell out Rs 10 crore for Noor Ahmad at the IPL mega auction. But in their very first game on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the Afghan boy proved he is worth every penny as the five-time champions beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets.
On the eve of the match, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad threw his weight behind the Afghan left-arm chinaman, stressing that “he is right up there” with the best in the shortest format. Noor (4-18 off 4 overs), making his maiden appearance in canary yellow, didn’t let his captain and all those who believed in him, down.
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After left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (3-29) provided the perfect start with a double blow, ‘Man of the Match’ Noor delivered a spin-bowling masterclass that MI struggled to deal with. In the end, Mumbai, invited to bat, crawled their way to a below-par 155-9 after a largely disappointing show.
Chennai later crossed the line in the final over, thanks to a blazing captain’s knock from Ruturaj (53 off 26 balls; 6×4, 3×6) and a measured innings from Rachin Ravindra (65 not out off 45 balls; 2×4, 4×6). Ruturaj, sacrificing his opening slot to ‘impact player’ Rahul Tripathi and dropping to No. 3, raised his fastest IPL half-century (off 22 balls) before holing out to long-off fielder Will Jacks off left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur (3-32).
On a day when his senior spin partner Mitchell Santner failed to impress against his former team, youngster Vignesh offered Mumbai a glimmer of hope with a three-wicket haul on debut.
Although the visitors dragged the contest to the last over despite Ruturaj’s blitz, the hosts were in control for most parts of the chase to get the job done. Rachin and fan favourite MS Dhoni were in the middle when CSK completed the formalities.
In the first essay, the 20-year-old Noor, a craftsman with the ability to take the ball both ways, dismissed two of MI’s big fishes — stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma — during his match-changing spell. While Suryakumar (29 off 26 balls; 2×4, 1×6) was stumped by a lightning-quick Dhoni off a delivery that turned away from the right-hander, southpaw Tilak (31 off 25 balls; 2×4, 2×6) was trapped LBW with an incoming ball.
Baby-faced assassin Noor was the clear standout in the three-pronged spin attack that also included Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, as Robin Minz and Naman Dhir also fell to the Afghan. If not for a 51-run 4th-wicket alliance between Suryakumar and Tilak, and the cameo from Deepak Chahar (28 n.o. off 15 balls; 2×4, 2×6), MI would have finished terribly short of even the 150-run mark.
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