Agencies/Chennai
A stunning unbeaten century by Brendon McCullum from only 56 balls helped Chennai Super Kings to a massive total of 209 for four as they thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the fourth match of the 2015 Indian Premier League.
The Sunrisers sprung some surprises with their lineup, dropping Dale Steyn and selecting New Zealand’s Trent Boult and Kane Williamson, as well as England’s much-maligned all-rounder Ravi Bopara. There was also no place for the England one-day captain, Eoin Morgan.
The decision to leave out Steyn proved costly as the Super Kings flayed the attack for 14 sixes, nine of them to McCullum. Ishant Sharma, who bowled four front-foot no-balls, was particularly profligate with his three wicketless overs yielding 46 runs.
McCullum and Dwayne Smith got the home side off to a flying start, putting on 75 in eight overs before the latter was run-out sharply by Boult for 27. However, the New Zealand opener would not be calmed and continued a remarkable assault on all bowlers.
Suresh Raina was the second wicket to fall, again to a run-out – the second in a Bopara over. However, this brought the Super Kings’ captain, MS Dhoni, to the crease. The India one-day captain took a few balls to go through the gears before launching an equally stunning blitz of clean hitting to steer his side past 200.
Dhoni went to a good catch by David Warner on the edge of the circle one ball after reaching his 50 in the final over. After Ravindra Jadeja sacrificed himself to another run-out first ball, it left McCullum needing 11 from three deliveries to reach his second IPL century.
Ten of them came from successive scoops over the wicketkeeper’s head, before a sharp single off the final ball brought up the landmark. The total proved too steep and the Sunrisers were never up with the required rate. After a few early boundaries, Shikhar Dhawan edged to gully before KL Rahul was clean bowled. Although Warner and Naman Ojha put on a partnership of 45, they did not find the boundary enough to give their side a chance.
Warner reached his half-century from 41 balls but, when he was dismissed from the very next delivery, the Sunrisers needed nearly 19 an over and even the most fervent IPL apologist would have to concede this had turned out to be a non-event.
While Super Kings didn’t tinker with the XI that beat Delhi Daredevils narrowly on Thursday, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Kane Williamson and Trent Boult made IPL debuts, Ravi Bopara got a game ahead of Eoin Morgan, and Steyn missed out.
While talking to media after the win McCullum used words like ‘disappointed’, ‘reckless’ and ‘exhausted’ for himself, he reserved ‘brilliant’, ‘effective’ and ‘commanding’ for his teammates. McCullum said, “I never had a hundred on my mind. But I was a bit disappointed to only get a single off the last ball. When you’re batting on 99 and facing the last ball of the innings you just nudge it for one – that’s not a great look.”
McCullum impressed one and all with his humility and grace as New Zealand’s captain in the 2015 World Cup. At the IPL, he is doing the same as a team-man.
Talking about the ramp shots over the keeper’s head he said: “I used to do it a while ago. I found it hard to hit the ball down the ground on this surface. I saw the bowler going for the yorker and so I tried to use his pace and guide it backwards. It wasn’t something pre-planned, more of thinking on your feet.
Trent Boult was also happy to make his IPL debut as he said: “Yes, it was an interesting introduction to this tournament. Brendon batted really well and when he bats like that, it is very hard to be up against him. But I enjoyed it. It just shows the depth we have in our team. We have so many experienced bowlers and someone is going to miss out. It was nice to get a nod and have this opportunity. Hopefully, I will get more,” he said.
“I’d love to bowl as fast as Steyn but I don’t know if I can. He has massive experience. He is so brilliant in the beginning of the innings and he is a stunning death bowler as well. It will be nice to spend these five-six weeks with him and pick his brain. And honestly, it will be not just about T20 cricket but also a bit of talk around the red ball as well. It is a massive opportunity,” he said.
Chennai Super Kings’ Brendon McCullum ramps the ball for six against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai yesterday.
