Renowned cricket commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after achieving their third home win in IPL 2024. Aakash Chopra named Chennai Super Kings as the kings of their Chepauk fortress. The defending champions edged out Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 7 wickets in match 22 of IPL 2024.
Notably, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co. stole their third win in IPL 2024. Earlier, CSK won their first two matches against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans at home. It is worth noting that all of CSK’s home wins have been one-sided affairs. CSK lost their previous two away matches against Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024.
However, they showed their power against the mighty Kolkata Knight Riders, who were unbeaten in their last three games in IPL 2024. CSK restricted KKR to just 137-9 in the first innings and then surpassed them by 7 wickets with a half-century from captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Also Read: Watch: Andre Russell closes his ears as MS Dhoni’s entry sets Chepauk Crowd on fire
Super kings of Chennai are kings of Chepauk fort: Aakash Chopra
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra praised CSK for their win against KKR and praised the men in yellow for their dominance at home. Chopra called Chennai Super Kings as Chepauk Super Kings on his YouTube channel.
“Chennai Super Kings are Chepauk Super Kings. They are Champion Super Kings. They are unbeatable in their homeland, Chepauk. They are like the kings of their fortress, they rarely lose a match there. Even a well-prepared Kolkata Knight Riders could not break their defense when batting or bowling,” the 45-year-old said.
Aakash Chopra, who represented India in 10 Tests, also noted that Phil Salt’s first-ball wicket revealed that he was Ravindra Jadeja’s day in the game. Jadeja took 3 wickets to win the Man of the Match award in the CSK vs KKR clash.
“When Chennai decided to bowl first, they quickly dismissed Phil Salt, which made us realize that it was going to be a tough day for the opponents. How would you prepare good food without salt? The catch taken by Jaddu hinted at the performance Ravindra Jadeja star to come,” Chopra added.
Also Read: Watch: Tushar Deshpande exposes MS Dhoni behind Ravindra Jadeja prank in Chennai
Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana’s absence surprised me- Chopra
Aakash Chopra also highlighted that he was surprised by the absence of Deepak Chahar and Matheesha Pathirana in the match. He also considered CSK’s bowling to be weak. Chahar and Pathirana are crucial pacers for Chennai in IPL 2024 but they were not part of the playing XI against KKR.
“Deepak Chahar was not there and I was surprised. Pathirana was not there and I said that the bowling had suddenly become very weak. Surely you played against Lord (Shardul) Thakur, but the opposing team was a giant. So I was a bit worried and concerned,” the former India opener concluded.
Talking about the match, KKR completely failed with their batting with a dismal total of 137-9 in the first innings. Three wickets each from Tushar Deshpande and Ravindra Jadeja sent the visitors on the defensive. Captain Shreyas Iyer scored the highest of 34 runs as no KKR batsman could dominate at the Chidambaram Stadium.
Later, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 67 runs to lead the team to a magnificent victory. Daryl Mitchell (25) and Shivam Dube (28) also made decent contributions with the bat.