'MS chat helped': Dhoni’s touch revives Noor Ahmad at Chepauk
Noor Ahmad found his rhythm for Chennai Super Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders. He took three wickets for 21 runs, earning Player of the Match. Assistant coach Sridharan Sriram credited MS Dhoni for a chat that helped Noor.
Noor aims to build on this success for the team's future matches. Akeal Hosein expressed happiness for Noor's return to form.
CHENNAI : In Chennai Super Kings’ dim season last year, they found solace in the craft of Noor Ahmad. The left-arm wrist-spinner was one of the few bright spots as he finished second on the wicket-takers’ chart with 24 scalps in 14 matches. This season, however, as CSK found themselves in familiar early trouble, the young Afghan too looked out of rhythm.
He went wicketless in the team’s first three defeats and managed 1-36 off three in the fourth. But on Tuesday, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Noor rediscovered his touch in CSK’s second successive win, this time against Kolkata Knight Riders. Back in conditions that suited him, he delivered a ‘Player of the Match’ performance, returning 3/21 in four overs.
CSK’s assistant bowling coach Sridharan Sriram informed that MS Dhoni had a role in Noor’s revival. “There was a little bit of help for him from the pitch. I think he was a little bit slower through the air; there was more side spin on the ball, and there was more drop.