After a downslide in the IPL 2022, Chennai Super Kings are savouring a pretty strong run in the ongoing edition of the tournament. They were off to a slow start in the tournament with a defeat against the Gujarat Titans but were back quickly on their feet, drubbing the likes of Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians on the trot.
Here is how Chennai’s fast bowling unit has been delivering through thick and thin in 2023
Things went down again when they were beaten by the likes of Rajasthan Royals in a very closely contested encounter. But that defeat did very little to throw them off their scent as Chennai Super Kings went on to beat the likes of RCB, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of a defeat against the Rajasthan Royals.
Punjab Kings got the better of CSK while the following fixture against Lucknow Super Giants was washed away for the Yellow Army. This year has seen the Chennai batters ride roughshod over their counterparts but their bowlers have struggled to get going.
Matheesha Pathirana has been touted as the best by Scott Styris
However, with all said and done, Matheesha Pathirana, one of the next big things for Sri Lankan cricket, also the standard-bearer for CSK’s fast bowling unit is being touted as the next Lasith Malinga. Pathirana has been belting out a handful of toe-crushers that has left the opposition in shambles until now.
Former CSK player and New Zealand all-rounder, Scott Styris had an important observation about the fast bowling flair of Matheesha Pathirana, adding a huge remark, that in the future to come, he may very well be better than the former king of yorkers for Sri Lanka, Lasith Malinga.
Styris said, “I think Pathirana could be better than Malinga. I accept that it’s a massive call because he’s too early in his career. He’s not as accurate as Malinga yet, but Malinga was at his best when he was bowling at 145kph. And he only had about 3 or 4 years where that was the case. When he had that speed, and then the change-ups came, you had to respect that pace. When his top speed was down to 135, you could probably look at the slower ball more and react to the yorkers.”
