Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath showered praise on Ayush Mhatre after Chennai Super Kings registered a 23-run win against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday. While Badrinath praised the young batter, he acknowledged Mhatre is not at the same level as Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Mhatre scored a fine knock of 59 runs off just 36 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes before retiring out. The youngster added 113 runs off 68 balls with Sanju Samson, who scored an unbeaten knock of 115 runs off just 56 balls.
Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “The Mhatre-Samson partnership was the spine of the innings. At one stage, Mhatre was overtaking Sanju. He played an aggressive role, which I really liked. He is also very strong for his age with incredible bat speed. Of course, it’s not to the level of Vaibhav Suryavanshi. But still, he seems to be one to stay.”
The former CSK batter said the franchise made the right decision in retiring out Ayush Mhatre for the death overs.
“CSK also did the right thing by subbing him out and bringing Shivam Dube in. But Dewald Brevis might have been a better option at that time. Samson and Mhatre slowed down in the end overs because of tiredness and not lack of intent.”
Badrinath revealed that CSK’s bowling coach Sridharan Sriram told him that Samson did not practice on the eve of the match.
“I spoke to Sridharan Sriram at the ground. He told me Sanju did not come to practice at all on the eve of the match. But two days before the game, he practiced for three hours. He practiced drills on the indoor wickets before practicing hitting on the center wicket. The day before the match, he took off completely and did not come to the ground,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).
“So he was fresh and well-prepared. I could also see that he was very calm. He was breathing and relaxed and never looked fussed. It could be because of this practice technique and recovery. He took great shot options for the Chepauk wicket. The way he paced his innings was brilliant. Sanju himself will be relieved to play such a knock at Chepauk and win CSK the game.”
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday.
