It was Sam Curran’s cameo which changed the course of the game in Chennai’s favour in the IPL 2020 opener against Mumbai Indians. Chasing 163 to win, Curran scored 18 of 6 balls coming in ahead of MS Dhoni ensuring that CSK bag two points to start their season with a win. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, lost their seventh straight first game in IPL history.
Speaking at the post-match presentation after the game, Sam Curran admitted that he was surprised by his batting promotion at number six and that it was all a part of MS Dhoni’s plan.
Curran hails MS Dhoni
“To be honest, very surprised I went in at number six but he’s (Dhoni) a genius, he obviously thought something. Great win in the end. I think the left-right combination was his plan. The 18th over from Krunal Pandya was the over we wanted to target – a six or out approach mentality. Take the risk, and if it comes off it comes off, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t” said Sam Curran.
Interview – I was surprised to walk out to bat ahead of MS Dhoni – @CurranSM
Sam Curran and @NgidiLungi speak about @ChennaiIPL's win in Abu Dhabi, @RayuduAmbati's knock & @faf1307's game changing catches.
Watch it here – https://t.co/AxIyMpntbL #Dream11IPL #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/gkauiI8K6J
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 20, 2020
Sam Curran Reveals Reason of His Batting Promotion
MS Dhoni sent Curran and Jadeja ahead of himself and Kedar Jadhav to maintain the left-right batting combination after Ambati Rayudu’s dismissal. Rayudu was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning 71Before his contribution with the bat, Curran took the key wicket of Quinton de Kock with the ball.
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Meanwhile, this was CSK’s first win after five losses against Mumbai Indians. They failed to win even a single game in IPL 2019 including the final. Good batting show by Rayudu and Faf du Plessis (58*) also meant that CSK did not miss Suresh Raina in the batting line-up. Raina opted out of IPL 2020 due to personal reasons leaving the CSK management wanting answers as his replacement.
However, the pair of Rayudu and Faf did the job comfortably and Sam Curran’s batting prowess was also brought to the fore by Dhoni.
CSK face Rajasthan Royals in their second game in Sharjah on September 22. Jos Buttler will miss the opening game for the Royals since he is in his mandatory quarantine period.
Also Read: Jos Buttler All Set To Miss The First Match vs Chennai Super Kings