Devon Conway - the archetypal CSK opener of yore

It’s 2008, the IPL has only just begun and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have broken the bank for MS Dhoni. They have signed quite a few other international stars but the focus is solely on India's limited-overs captain. Much of their batting seems to revolve around him and his ability to grab the game by the scruff of its neck.

But amidst all that hype, CSK also have perhaps two of the best Australian batters going around. Matthew Hayden, in the twilight of his career, looks as best-suited to this format as anyone else. Michael Hussey, while not as belligerent as Hayden, knows how to win games of cricket.

It all starts off with a game at Mohali – a match where Hussey plunders a hundred on debut. CSK comfortably won the contest and went on to reach the final a few weeks later, producing several such performances along the way.

Hussey, though, did not just light up the IPL that afternoon in Mohali, he also provided CSK with a batting template they now live by, and are willing to die by…

***

The early 2010s. CSK have already won two IPL titles in 2010 and 2011. Their blueprint has worked as a charm so far, but the mega-auction does test their resolve. They manage to hold on to Hussey, and while there are changes elsewhere, their adherence to having a solid foreign opening batter remains.

Hussey repays that faith with a stellar 2011 campaign, scoring close to 500 runs and taking it up a notch in 2013, ending with 733 runs. CSK won the final in 2011, beating the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the summit clash. The result, at least in the final, might have been different but the success mantra remains the same.

***

It is 2018 now. An infamous time in CSK’s otherwise storied history. They are making their comeback into the IPL after being banished for two years. There is a bit of excitement but also trepidation at what the future might hold. Dhoni and Suresh Raina, their two lynchpins, are still around, as is Ravindra Jadeja.

Their batting unit, though, will need a thorough revamp, as T20 cricket has evolved considerably since they last played in the IPL. Most teams at the auction go after players dubbed high-profile and cricketers considering hot properties in the shortest format.

CSK do not. They knew they wanted a foreign opening batter (or two) but rather than going for someone young, they decided to place their faith in Shane Watson. Faf du Plessis also finds his way back to Chennai, and in those two, CSK have plenty of quality.

It comes to the fore just when it matters too. Du Plessis pulled a victory out of the fire against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Qualifier, and Watson bettered it with a sumptuous ton in the final against the same opposition.

The recipe for success, even after two years in the wilderness, is still going strong…

***

Now to 2021. CSK were battered and looked bruised for much of IPL 2020. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time, and many wondered if that side, led by Dhoni, had run their race.

Dhoni, post their dismal 2020 campaign, said that they would be back stronger. That, at the time, was hard to believe because Watson had huffed and puffed throughout the season, du Plessis had not managed to provide much respite either and their batting lacked the necessary oomph to win a competition like the IPL.

Maybe Dhoni knew something we did not. That was exactly how it turned out. Ruturaj Gaikwad was thrown in to open alongside du Plessis, and the pair produced one of the greatest IPL seasons ever, in terms of scoring runs as a partnership.

If Gaikwad did not get you, du Plessis would. And in the games that really mattered, du Plessis would anyway get you.

***

It is 2023. As a CSK fan, you still cannot believe that du Plessis is leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Close your eyes, though, and just listen to the sound coming off the bat of the left-handed foreign batter opening alongside Gaikwad.

At first, you think it is Hussey. Then, for a slight moment, you hope that it is du Plessis. Some even dream that Hayden has stepped out of the commentary box and signed up for one, final gig with CSK. But none of this is true. Of course, it is not.

What is true, though, is that Devon Conway now plays for CSK. Conway, who many thought would excel in red-ball cricket but might struggle in white-ball formats. Here Conway is, opening for the four-time champions in arguably the toughest franchise T20 league on the planet. And like CSK's foreign openers of yore, he knows what he needs to do.

Devon Conway has scored three consecutive fifties for CSK

On Friday, April 22, against SRH, Conway registered his third consecutive fifty this season. It was also his sixth overall in the IPL, and these half-centuries have come in just 13 innings. Do the math and it amounts to roughly a fifty every second innings. That is not bad. Not bad at all.

In fact, Conway now has 510 runs in the IPL. The Kiwi currently averages 46.36, which with a 10-innings cut-off, is the second-highest ever, only behind KL Rahul. These runs, though, have come at a strike rate of 144.89, which is comfortably the highest among all batters to average more than 40 (min 10 innings played).

Among those to average more than 38, having scored a minimum of 500 IPL runs, Conway’s strike rate is the fourth-best. The players ahead of him: AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Jos Buttler.

Each of those would walk into most all-time T20 XIs – such has been their dominance and match-winning capability. Ask a passer-by if they would mention Conway in that same breath, and they would possibly say no. But the numbers indicate that Conway has been just as good. That alone says a lot.

The other thing about Conway is that he is the archetypal CSK opener. He is unflustered most times, goes about his business quietly, and deals in the currency that matters – runs. His strokes exude flamboyance from time to time, but they are deeply intertwined with determination, grit, and mental toughness – qualities that CSK absolutely adore, and have stuck to since the IPL began.

Back in the day, Hussey ticked all these boxes. A little more recently, du Plessis did too. While Hayden and Watson were slightly more bullish in terms of imposing themselves, they too had mastered the art of scoring runs when their team required it the most.

That has, in fact, been one of the cornerstones of CSK’s success over the years. Apart from 2010, when M Vijay was firing on all cylinders, they have always had a foreign opener who has scored tons of runs. Hussey in 2011, Watson in 2018, and du Plessis in 2021.

They have won the title in all these years, by the way. Of course, this doesn't put pressure on Conway, but the resemblances are too uncanny to even evoke a comparison.

Conway, through the sheer weight of performance, has warranted this discussion. That he seems just like a classic CSK opener of yore only makes this narrative even more beautiful.