New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) For a long time, a key marker for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) having a good time in the IPL has been tied to their spinners making merry with the ball. At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where yellow easily outnumbered blue jerseys in stands, Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad provided for that merry making with the ball to help the five-time champions get a decisive win.

In IPL 2025, Ahmad lacked support as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were far off from their prime. With the veteran spinners exiting CSK set-up ahead of IPL 2026, Hosein’s acquisition at the auction was the ideal way to fill in that huge void.

Hence, it’s no surprise that Hosein’s inclusion from April 11 after three early defeats has coincided with a sharp turnaround in CSK’s fortunes – the latest of which got them a clinical eight-wicket win over DC.

On a sticky pitch, there was ample turn and grip for spinners in the first half. Add to it, the ball was coming slower off the pitch with low bounce, which meant pacers could benefit from employing slower balls and hard lengths. In that scenario, Hosein’s control in power-play and Ahmad’s middle‑overs strikes reduced DC to 61/5 and that went a long way in CSK getting two crucial points.

While the scorecard reflected a comprehensive win, Hosein said dismantling DC’s top-order was no accident, and credited meticulous homework for the same. “I think homework is very important. You want to have that head start when you come up against whichever batter you’re going to face.

“It’s just about making assessments as quickly as possible. You might come up on a pitch that is spinning and then the one that isn’t spinning. Thankfully I can spin and swing the ball. So it’s just about picking which deliveries will give you the most success on a particular day and against a particular batter,” he said in the post-match press conference.

With two right-handed openers at the crease, CSK wasted no time in deploying Hosein from the get go. Despite conceding a first ball boundary to Pathum Nissanka, Hosein found turn to beat Nissanka and went up for a loud lbw appeal on the fourth ball. Though CSK didn’t go for the review due to the ball going over stumps, CSK persisted with Hosein, especially with DC batters not being too proactive.

With Nitish Rana coming to the middle after Nissanka’s fall, it was a bid by the hosts to deny Hosein a return to the crease, due to the left-arm-spinner versus left-handed batter match-up being amongst cricket’s most rigid conventions. But then switching Hosein’s end from Willingdon Pavilion to the North Stand paid immediate rewards as he got grip and beat a lofting KL Rahul in flight to get his scalp.

With Karun Nair facing four balls, Rana could only play a dot ball, as DC closed the powerplay at 37/2. Hosein’s final figures would read as 1-19 in four overs, with it made sharper by the fact that only one of his four overs came outside the fielding restrictions.

As per CricViz, Hosein is the most economical bowler in the powerplay this season with a dot‑ball percentage of 64.8 and economy rate of 6.44, which further highlights that his control with the new ball has been unmatched. Noor would then come over to knock off Nair and Rana and finish with 2-22 in three overs.

“I think I’ll speak from a match perspective. Getting the opportunity to bowl first for me is just about again making that assessment as quickly as possible and then passing on that information to Noor or even to the seamers as well if it was a bit of spin or if it’s gripping or whatever the case is.

“So conversations with myself and Noor have been fantastic. Really happy for him that he’s getting some success and like I say it’s just about passing on that information to your fellow teammates so that when they come on they can do even better than you and put the team in a winning position.”

“Changing ends wasn’t my call. It was the skipper’s call. But with that being said you have to be open minded and ready for any challenge or any specific end. Sometimes you may come up against a big and small side, but sometimes you try to stick to the plan.

“So, don’t change the plan and again it’s about getting hit where your boundary fielders are. I had long off and mid wicket so I know if he had to score boundaries I want to force him to those guys and luckily he got caught trying to go over long off which was good for me,” elaborated Hosein.

Hosein also noted that the ‘mental’ aspect is just as vital as skill in stemming the run-flow in power-play. “I think you need both of them. You need to have that mental and you also need to have that skill, especially when you come upon pitches that aren’t conducive to spin and it’s just about being disciplined as well.

“Having two fielders out in the power play – it’s not a job where you can go searching for wickets or you can be too greedy. It’s just about sticking to the plan. Yes it’s a bit descriptive because you only have two guys out so it’s just about being disciplined and trying to do the job for the team. At the end of the day if you don’t get wickets and you bowl economically in the power play that’s a damn good job you’ve done for the team.”

The dismantling of DC wasn’t just about the starters. Hosein pointed to the readiness of Jamie Overton, who bowled just one over in the death overs, but took out Tristan Stubbs, who neutralised Anshul Kamboj with his usage of the crease.

“I bowled my fourth over outside the powerplay so it wasn’t too bad. But Jamie – he’s been in great form with the bat and ball but sometimes it’s just the way the cookie crumbles. He didn’t bowl much but it just goes to show that it’s very important to stay in tack with the game and stay in tune with the game and understand when you’re called upon you have a plan and you’re ready to execute.

“Seeing Jamie come and bowl such a brilliant over in the death overs under pressure to guys set, and to execute like that for the team was fantastic. Even though he could have easily felt that he was out of the game because he hadn’t bowled an over, it was very good and I must applaud Jamie for staying in tack with the game and understanding what was his role and function at that time and he executed brilliantly.”

It’s still a mystery over why CSK would bench Hosein at times, including in their eight-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans at home. For starters, Hosein featured in the Delhi tie only after CSK had to rejig their combination post Ramakrishna Ghosh being ruled out due to right foot fracture. But with Hosein and Ahmad in sync, CSK can look to continue with their new spin twins and bring themselves back in the race for playoffs.

“I think it can be difficult, but at the end of the day, you have to be open-minded and for me it’s whatever the team requires and for us as players it’s whichever player is required on that given day. So we’re very open to whatever decisions is made. We know the staff are doing what’s best for our team and putting the best eleven on the park for that particular opposition on that particular day,” signed off Hosein, after playing a vital hand on a night when the sea of yellow was elated on seeing CSK’s victory making huge noise in New Delhi.

–IANS

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