Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis resurrected the CSK run chase from 6/2 after 2 overs. (Source: Twitter/@IPL
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Ambati Rayudu meant business from the first ball he faced in the season opener between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians on Saturday. The 34-year-old scored 71 from 48 deliveries, which proved substantial to guide his side to a convincing win against the defending champions.

His knock was also appreciated by the fans, who literally flooded social media with memes targeting former selector MSK Prasad for not picking him up in the World Cup squad. The same opinion has now been echoed by former Australian cricketer Shane Watson. The Aussie feels India made a huge mistake by not picking Rayudu in the World Cup held last year.

Might not be a 3D player but still fairly efficient at the one dimension he has….top knock Ambati Rayudu 👌🙌 #CSK #MIvCSK #IPL2020

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 19, 2020

“He an incredibly talented batsman and I think so it was a loss for the Indian ODI team for not picking him in the World Cup squad,” Watson said in a YouTube show named The Debrief.

“He batted incredibly well with scoring options all over the ground,” Watson added.

Rayudu was anticipated to fill in India’s crucial number 4 spot in the World Cup last year. However, it came as a shock announcement when Vijay Shankar was preferred over Rayudu for the same role.

Justifying the decision, Prasad had then termed Shankar as a “three dimensional player” and stated that Rayudu couldn’t be included purely because of the permutations and combinations and the selection committee didn’t resort to any favouritism.

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