Chennai Super Kings's spin maestro Ravichandran Ashwin is injured and he will be sitting on the bench for the next two matches. Ashwin took a blow on his spinning fingers while he was fielding during their match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday.
Ashiwn was fielding at the covers while Suresh Raina was bowling to Surya Kumar Yadav of KKR. Yadav hit one really hard towards the covers and Ashwin tried to catch the ball but hurt his fingers instead. He walked out of the field in the 12th over and remained in the dugout for the rest of the match.
"Ashwin has a split in his middle finger. We do not know how many stitches he will require. He has been taken to the hospital. The team has decided not to take Ashwin for the next two matches," CSK's team manager Russell Radhakrishnan told Espncricinfo.
Before leaving the field, Ashwin was clinical when he came into bowl. He bowled two overs and picked up two crucial wickets of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. He dismissed Uthappa in his very first ball. In his two overs, he gave away just five runs. Ashwin will not be featuring in the playing XI against KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dwayne Bravo also starred in this win against KKR as he brought in his cool-quotient and stole the match away from the pockets of KKR. He picked up three wickets in his three overs that he bowled and took a superb diving catch to dismiss Surya Kumar Yadav. He reflected on how CSK skipper MS Dhoni believed in him after Ashwin's departure from the field and threw the ball at him in death overs.
Bravo heaped praises on CSK's outstanding fielding. They were indeed brilliant on the field. The ball could hardly go past their fielders after a point of time. "With the kind of fielders we have, if we could save 10-15 extra runs, it is going to be very crucial in the end. When we have guys like McCullum, Smith, Faf, Raina and Jadeja in the field, we can make that difference in the field to win matches," exclaimed Bravo.
He also credited his skipper for believing in him and handling him the ball towards the latter half of their chase, just when the match was getting tighter.
"Mahi (MS Dhoni) kept my overs at the back-end and I always back myself to bowl in the death. I know it is going to be difficult to hit my slower balls in the last few overs if I execute them properly. It worked today and I am thankful for that," said Bravo.
