Chennai Super Kings batsman Robin Uthappa turned the clock back and to his glory Kolkata Knight Riders days when he hammered the Lucknow Super Giants bowlers to all corners of the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday evening.
Asked to open the batting as CSK dropped Devon Conway, Uthappa got into his groove right from the first over – the first ball as he flicked speedster Avesh Khan for a four on the leg side, before punching him on the second ball for another four on the off side. A rattled Avesh tried bouncing Uthappa out – and did hit on his helmet as well – but leaked another bye boundary on the last ball, leaking 14 runs off his first over.
That knock on the head, though, didn’t deter the 36-year-old from playing an innings full of intent, class, timing – and intent again. He then took on Dushmantha Chameera, the fast bowler who was sensational in the previous game against Gujarat. Robin Uthappa climbed into him for a six and a four on the leg side.
Although Ruturaj Gaikwad got run out at one end, Robin Uthappa, on his end, continued his assault as LSG pacers weren’t learning and continued to bowl on Uthappa’s legs. The veteran tore into T20 Australian specialist Andrew Tye: 4,4,0,4,2,4 taking CSK to over 50 in just the fifth over.
Moeen Ali, playing his first game of the season, got the rub of the green too as he then smashed Krunal Pandya for two fours and a six – CSK 73/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Robin Uthappa brought up his fifty soon after the powerplay, however, his highly entertaining knock – 50 off 27 balls, 8 fours and one six – was brought to an end by Ravi Bishnoi, who trapped the senior batter lbw.
Uthappa’s searing assault left fans in awe – his class once again coming to the fore after having struggled in the IPL during his last years at KKR and then a season at RR – but his IPL career has revived since joining CSK last year.
Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle, who has seen Robin Uthappa and his career all along, made a special request via a tweet for the Karnataka batsman: he asked Uthappa to preserve his bat as it’s a thing of beauty with which he’s has played some exquisite shots today.
“Hey @robbieuthappa, preserve this bat, it is a beauty. Playing some lovely notes of music at the moment!,” Bhogle tweeted.
Hey @robbieuthappa, preserve this bat, it is a beauty. Playing some lovely notes of music at the moment!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 31, 2022
