After three days of light batting and bowling, fielding drills and touchdowns, Chennai Super Kings got down to play its first practice game at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday.
CSK was split into two teams, CSK ‘A’ and ‘B’, and the former defeated the latter by nine wickets. Set a target of 146, premier batsman Suresh Raina — for whom this was the first practice session, along with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and opener M. Vijay — scored an unbeaten 84 and senior batsman Michael Hussey, too, chipped in with an unbeaten 49. There was to be no birthday cheer for Vijay as he was out for a duck.
The match, true to its name, was far from serious. The run scoring frenzy and its accompanying flair, usually associated with the shortest version, were felt only in patches.
However, Raina’s fielding caught the eye. Manning the cover and point areas, he looked sharp. Anirudha Srikkanth (31) and Dwayne Bravo (three for 23) had decent outings as well.
The players will have an optional practice session on Tuesday.
