Tushar Deshpande's breathtaking bowling display in the Powerplay was the difference for Chennai Super Kings in their 78-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged that the pacer brought the momentum, which was missing this season, back in the side.
Deshpande put his heart and soul into his bowling, returning figures of 4 for 27 off three overs. Three of those wickets came in Powerplay and broke the back of the mighty SRH batting line-up, led by Travis Head.
"One area where we lost momentum in a few games was not getting wickets in the Powerplay. It is the only way we can put the opposition on the back foot. Deshpande bowled really well. His hard work is paying off," said CSK skipper Gaikwad, who scored 98 off 54 deliveries to give the team a 200-plus total to defend.
With dew giving the spinners a torrid time, the onus was on Ravindra Jadeja to keep his line and length intact, and the wily spinner bowled a measly spell, giving away just 22 runs in his four overs while also taking a wicket.
"Special mention to Jaddu as well. In these wet conditions, four overs 20-25 runs, for me that was a match-turning spell.
"I'm not very vocal. Everyone is very experienced in the dressing room and you can't just go up to seniors and tell them what to do. So I just take a back seat," said Gaikwad, following the win, which propelled CSK to third on the points table.
Gaikwad added that at no point was he thinking about a century and "upset" with himself for missing a few big shots.
"I was never even thinking about the hundred. I was just trying to make sure we get to 220 or whatever extra runs possible. Even in the last game I wasn't thinking about the hundred.
"I was upset I missed a few shots. At the innings break I thought it would cost us. But, in the end, it worked out. Last game we made some errors, some loose balls here and there, not really up to the mark in the field. Today we came up with plans, stuck to them and we were excellent in the field."
He said that with the 'Impact sub' rule, no score is safe and the more a team scores the better it is.
"With the Impact rule you never know the par score, you always want an extra 10-20 runs."
Deshpande said the CSK bowlers used the wicket well though gripping the ball was extremely difficult due to the dew.
"The ground was soaking wet. It swung for a couple of balls and didn't swing at all. I thought we used the pitch well. It was a bit sticky. We had a specific plan that even if they hit a good ball, we'll try to bowl that good ball again. Bowling that length in the powerplay is very crucial."
SRH skipper Pat Cummins said his team would certainly bounce back after a couple of losses.
"It's definitely dewy now, but it was pretty dewy in the first innings as well. It's only a couple of games (lost), so we'll look to bounce back quickly.
"We thought chasing was our best chance to win but unfortunately it didn't come off tonight. I think we are pretty happy with how the batting line-up is going. Nothing went right for us today but everyone in that line-up has won a game for us at some point this season."
