“I think to be able to get some deviation off the surface is very important. I think that is what he’s been working on,” Sriram said of Noor. “Everybody accepts that there are going to be days where wickets are going to be very flat, but still looking to be aggressive, put revs on the ball and get the ball to spin will definitely help him a lot. And that’s where you can induce mistakes because once you start to get defensive, then the batters are going to get on top of you.”
Hosein, the other half of CSK’s spin attack, has only featured in two games so far, but has given little away in those as CSK won both. A powerplay specialist across the T20 world – his economy rate after 275 games is 7.17 – Hosein has been a point of difference for many of the teams he has turned out for over the years and in this IPL, only his second season after he played one game for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2023, he is already making a mark. And a strong partnership with Noor can only be good for CSK’s cause.
“I think they complement each other very well, communicate with each other very well as well. They’ve got a good understanding, camaraderie between them, so [there is] exchange of information,” Sriram said. “Today actually, I think Akeal was the one who went and told Noor about the exact length, that in-between length that he needed to bowl. In his first over, Noor was either a bit short or a touch full, but then once he found that in-between length, I think Noor was a little unplayable.
“I think initially, without Akeal Hosein, I felt they were one attacking bowler short. But now I think with him in the XI [XII], now you have the option of bowling Akeal Hosein in the powerplay and today, whatever he has shown, you can also, you know, make him wait and get him in the middle overs”
Saba Karim
“So I think credit to Akeal as well because I was a part of that conversation in the strategic time-out where Akeal was telling Noor about that in-between length where the ball was just holding enough and hitting down the ground was not that easy.”
Curiously, Hosein, CSK’s impact player on the day, came on to bowl only in the sixth over of KKR’s chase, following which he and Noor bowled three overs in tandem, were separated, and then bowled four overs in tandem. From the sixth over to the 14th, when Noor and Hosein were at it together bar one over of Gurjapneet Singh, KKR moved from 31 for 2 to 91 for 6.
“Everybody thought that he would come on to bowl in the powerplay. For him to come and bowl in the middle overs and still remain so effective was so fascinating to watch,” Saba Karim said. “Both Noor Ahmad and I think the addition of Akeal Hosein has helped the CSK side to become far more competitive and we’ve seen that in the last two games.
“I think initially, without Akeal Hosein, I felt they were one attacking bowler short. But now I think with him in the XI [XII], now you have the option of bowling Akeal Hosein in the powerplay and today, whatever he has shown, you can also, you know, make him wait and get him in the middle overs.”
Hosein goes under the tag of “slow left-arm orthodox”, but very often, he is more of a slow swing bowler, getting the ball to swerve in the air as it gets close to the batter.
“I think his arm-ball is very good in the sense that it swings late, it doesn’t swing from the hand,” Sriram said of Hosein’s craft. “His release is pretty good that he gets the ball to move a little late and once the ball is good, it’s got a consistent swing, the swing is a little more exaggerated, so that’s what makes him difficult.
“He’s a very good student of the game. He sits through, he analyses opposition, he analyses the opposition batters, where he needs to have his two fielders out and the speeds at which he needs to bowl to different batters. So he’s very, very intelligent that way and he comes prepared with his homework done.”
