Devon Conway's blazing blade and Moeen Ali's effective off-breaks beautifully complemented each other as Chennai Super Kings outclassed Delhi Capitals in every department of the game, winning their IPL match by a comprehensive 91-run margin.
Put in to bat, Conway completed a hat-trick of half-centuries with a superb 87 off 49 balls to set up a winning score of 208/6 in 20 overs.
The scoreboard pressure was always mounting on Capitals as they finally managed 117 in 17.4 overs with Moeen (3/13 in 4 overs) taking wickets of Mitchell Marsh (25 off 20 balls) and skipper Rishabh Pant (21 off 11 balls) in quick succession to finish the contest.
Coming down the track and hitting spinners over the ropes was not his biggest strength but CSK opener Conway tried it with great success on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's advice in the win against DC in the IPL.
Conway revealed that Dhoni’s advice on handling spinners helped him score his third straight half-century this season.
“I have got to give credit to MS actually,” Conway said after the match.
“In the last game, I swept quite a lot, and I unfortunately got out playing the sweep. But he (Dhoni) told me 'I think the guys are going to try to bowl fuller to you tonight. So maybe come out and try to hit them straight.' "He sort of gave me the guideline to try to execute that," the New Zealander said.
Conway, who has scored an unbeaten 85 and 56 in earlier games, usually plays the sweep shot against spin but was dismissed when he attempted one against leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga in CSK's last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Against DC, he not only swept and reverse-swept but also charged at the DC bowlers to hit them down the ground. In all, he stepped down to hit four balls from spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav and all went for sixes.
Another CSK stalwart who has been helping Conway is assistant coach and former Australia batter Mike Hussey with whom the Kiwi chats before matches.
“I think I’ve heard that a few times now, which is quite good,” Conway said at the post-match conference on people comparing him with Hussey.
“To get compared to one of the greats, Mike Hussey... it’s pretty special to be possibly in that bracket.
“He’s got so much knowledge, so much experience. Not only in the IPL, but throughout the world. It’s just very important for me as a player to continue talking to him and learning from him and just getting some guidelines when I need it.” The 30-year-old right-handed batter, who has played seven Tests, three ODIs and 20 T20Is since making his debut in 2021, said he wants to keep things simple.
"For me, the key is to keep very simple, and authentic myself as a player. My blueprint is simple. In the first six (overs), try to play strong cricket shots, analyse the situation, the surface and the conditions. I just kept up the communication with Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad) at the other end.
"He is a class player, he’s really calm at the crease, so him and I have good chats and we complement each other quite nicely in the middle.”
