A casual chat with Mahendra Singh Dhoni can prove game-changing, as Noor Ahmad realised a few days ago.

The left-arm wrist spinner from Afghanistan had been through a tough few months and gone wicketless in their previous three matches. Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming and Dhoni kept a close tab on him at the nets. On the eve of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai, Dhoni’s advice transformed Noor’s bowling as his 3/21 tilted the scales in CSK’s favour.

Dhoni had noticed that Noor had been bowling a flat trajectory and giving room for the batters to swing in the arc. He told him to focus on his traditional leg-break and trust it more, rather than relying too much on his googly. He also suggested slowing down the ball’s speed in the air to get better dip and side-spin.

Noor’s return to form also coincided with left-arm orthodox Akeal Hosein reinventing his touch. CSK’s struggles in the early part of this IPL had a lot to do with their bowling, with the team failing to find a suitable alternative for the retired Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who had been traded to Rajasthan Royals.

Akeal was a predominantly Powerplay spinner, having played the role to perfection for the West Indies, while Noor had that mysterious element about him. The red-soil surface at the Wankhede suited Akeal and he put the skids on the Mumbai Indians chase with early wickets on Thursday evening.

“I’ve been trying to pick the brains of the coaches and players on red soil, black soil... what it does and which deliveries work. I was pretty happy with how I went about it today because it can be a bit challenging if you don’t adapt to the conditions quickly. Some deliveries come on a bit slower, and some surfaces react differently,” the Trinidadian said after the match.

The wrist spinner struck in the very first over of the Mumbai Indians innings and claimed three more wickets to finish with a decisive 4/17.

“For me, it was just about trying to go out there and execute every ball to the best of my ability, and also to do what the team requires. I’m very happy to have such a performance and to contribute to the team win at Mumbai Indians’ home ground.

“One thing Dwayne Bravo said to me is that if you’re going to get hit, at least get hit to the two fielders you have outside protecting the boundaries. So for me, it’s about trying to stick to the team plan as much as possible
and trying to bowl the best delivery to that particular batter at that point in time,” Hosein said.

Apart from their drift and accuracy, what has stood out has been their ‘masked’
celebrations. They cover their face with their palm on claiming a wicket, and it instantly turned out to be a trend-setter.

In Noor and Akeal, CSK seem to have found an emerging spin duo who can weave magic much in the Sunil Narine-Varun Chakravarthy mould. Even if they d
on’t make the playoffs, they seem to have found the perfect pair who can deliver the knockout blow.