Lucknow Super Giants opener Kyle Mayers had raced away to 53 off 21 balls in the Powerplay, and was threatening to take the game by the scruff of the neck, when Moeen put paid to his plans. The Barbadian was the first of three LSG batters to hole out in the deep, while trying to loft Moeen.
After a blazing start (79-0 in 5. 2 overs, the visitors were suddenly finding it difficult to time their big hits against the spinners. They could add just five runs in the next 16 balls and lost three wickets in the process. While Mitchell Santner tied things up from one end, Moeen found success with the classical approach.
After being adjudged the player of the match, the 35-year-old said, “It’s not easy. It was a tough one. They have some really big hitters. My approach was to bowl like I do in Test cricket and just spin it as hard as I can. “With the ball was gripping and holding up a bit on the surface, Moeen decided to loop it up and reaped rewards. He dismissed KL Rahul and Krunal Pandya in similar fashion as Mayers, and cleaned up Marcus Stoinis as the Aussie tried to slog towards the leg side. Moeen didn’t let any batter break free and struck in each of his four overs to effectively shut out LSG at 136-5 after 14 overs.
With the kind of performance he delivered on Monday night, many were left wondering why Moeen did not bowl a single over against the Gujarat Titans in the previous game. Moeen himself was nonplussed about it, saying MS Dhoni “knows what he is doing”.
“The great thing about bowling under MS is he knows when and what situation a particular bowler needs to bowl. As a spin-bowling allrounder, that aspect (bowling) of your game keeps you aware and you want that. I’m not going to bowl all the time with Jadeja in there. I think it’s going to take partnerships and different individuals to stand up in every game and win the match for the side,” Moeen added.
02:36
IPL 2023: CSK beat Lucknow on return to home ground
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