CHENNAI: During last year’s big IPL auction, Chennai Super Kings got a lot of things wrong. One call which raised a few eyebrows at that stage, though, is now paying rich dividends. When CSK jacked up Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad’s price to Rs 10 cr, Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra — who had put up the ‘Right To Match’ card — smiled sarcastically and waved his hand at the CSK table, as if to suggest they were welcome to Noor.
Nehra, of course, had his reasons. He already had Rashid Khan — arguably the greatest IPL spinner, ever — in the Titans ranks. Coming to the midway stage of the tournament, it seems Nehra’s decision to let Noor go probably wasn’t the best call. And CSK’s decision to invest so much money on the 20-year-old was spot on.
While Rashid, in the six games so far, has taken only four wickets at an economy rate of 9.77 at an average of 53.75, Noor has the Purple Cap with 12 wickets (ER 7.12 and the average too, is an enviable 14.25, way ahead of the rest of the pack. On Monday, CSK won a tight game against Lucknow Super Giants and MS Dhoni cornered the glory with an 11-ball 26 not out, but even the legend himself was surprised when he was given the Man of the Match award. “Why are they giving it to me, Noor bowled so well,” Dhoni said.
Noor Ahmad stats
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Standing behind the stumps, the skipper saw how brilliant the leftarmer was, going for 0-13 off his four overs in the middle stages of the innings, that too bowling against Rishabh Pant, one of India’s best players of spin. On a slightly helpful pitch, the LSG captain just couldn’t get Noor away, as the total which looked to be going in the 180-plus region was eventually curtailed to 166/7.
The effect Noor had on LSG was similar to what Rashid has been doing all these years. In his 127 IPL matches, Rashid Khan has 153 wickets (ER 6.95). But injuries have bothered him in the last couple of years and even though he had a brilliant T20 World Cup last year, teams seem to be playing him better.
The general consensus is that batters are playing him more as a medium pacer, with the googly the stock ball. His accuracy might have waned a bit too, allowing batters to express themselves slightly better against the Afghan master. On the other hand, Noor, who has been Rashid’s apprentice for country and franchise (GT), is in a phenomenal phase of his career.
In the first game, he had the wicket of the brilliant Suryakumar Yadav stumped with one leaving the right hander. It was his spell of 4/15 that set up CSK’s win. Things was pretty similar in Lucknow on Monday, when the five-time champs won their second game after a five-match slump. CSK bowling coach Eric Simons was all praise for the young Afghan cricketer, saying, “It’s not always the wickets that you take but the wickets that you earn for the team. He was bowling a lot more accurately and was looking to be a little slower, which shows that he is confident. I’ve caught a lot of balls from a lot of spinners in my role as bowling coach, and he’s the one I cannot read. That’s a fantastic asset.” It’s this element of mystery of Noor that CSK will both desperately bank on if the team is to take a shot at a top-four berth.
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