And where did the Pune Warriors get it right? Right from winning the toss, everything went right for the stand-in skipper, Ross Taylor. I always felt that it will be great for PWI if Robin and Aaron can provide them with a solid start and they stitched together a 96 run stand for the opening wicket. With hitters like Taylor & Smith to follow, the openers had set the perfect launch pad for the assault. And Smith didn’t disappoint. Scoring 39 runs with a strike rate of more than 240 was the cherry on top of the PWI innings. Bhuvanesh Kumar came up with a brilliant spell of 2-12 in 4 overs. Smith had a brilliant match with his batting & fielding and Finch gave them a superb start, but Bhuvi would be my “Man of the Match”. With an economy rate of 3 RPO against CSK, (don’t forget the venue of the match) he should have got it. Though MSD was in the wrong side after the match, he would have been definitely happy with the way Bhuvi bowled (looks like he has got his seat booked for the South Africa tour). Let’s not forget the captaincy of Taylor. Asking Bhuvi to bowl 3 overs in the start was a great move. Remember Mathews pulling out his strike bowler after just 1 over against MI? Getting his best fielders in the right positions and getting Smith to come up at No.4 were some sparks of his great captaincy skills. Overall, the Pune team fought like true warriors and tamed the lions in their own den. I have predicted that the absence of Mathews would be a blessing in disguise for the warriors and it happened exactly the same way. If PWI can maintain this combination and Yuvi coming in for Pandey in the upcoming matches, they can give the other teams a run for their money.
Before the match, I have predicted an easy victory for the CSK. But the beauty of T-20 cricket is that, on their day the minnows can beat the masters and that’s what unfolded today.
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