Superkings vs Daredevils - Match Review

Well Played, Daredevils ! You outshone us in all departments and were man to man just that much better on the day. However we needn't be too despondent about this loss. I was quite chuffed by the way we fought right till the end despite that unbelievable opening onslaught by Gambhir and Sehwag. I know a lot of teams would have given up and lost the game in 12 -13 overs but Dhoni kept it going, very nearly engineered a minor panic, and kept us interested till the last over.

Overall, I must say the Devils are looking pretty good ! McGrath, Asif, Sangwan and Yomahesh are forming a formidable foursome and Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan is a terrific trio. The loss of our major stars definitely affected Chennai, and there are now beginning to show a few glaring deficiencies. Luckily they can be countered, in my opinion. Fleming is a class player and will find form in a few games time. But Patel and Viduyt in the top 3 worry me. I believe Raina and Badrinath are much more talented players than these two and deserve to be swapped. Ideally Fleming, Raina, Badri and Dhoni should form the top 4.

With the top 3 teams now all having 8 points from 5 games the top of the table has suddenly opened up wide and the game against Rajasthan is going to be an absolute humdinger. Can't wait for it to begin.

Delhi Daredevils Vs Chennai Super Kings - Match Preview

I am personally expecting this contest as the real "Blockbuster contest".  This match holds the key for the future matches of new look Chennai Super Kings team.

Team Composition:

With the arrival of Ntini, we can expect Amarnath to make way for a batsman, probably Vidyut (since he gave a press conference yesterday). But the team management may surprise us by bringing in Anirudha or R Ashwin or even Shadab Jakati. If Gony is not fit for tomorrow's match, Amarnath will retain his place and may even open the bowling with Ntini. If Gony is not fit, his absence will be a critical blow for this important match.

Opposition:

Sehwag & Co. would be aching to defeat the lions on their own den and capture the top spot. If they have to win, their bowlers lead by McGrath & Co have to succeed against Chennai Super Kings' long batting order, which is considerably weakened by the departure of Hayden and Hussey. Expect Parthiv Patel/Vidyut (whoever opens) to go after McGrath while Fleming will be looking to consolidate the innings. If Delhi Daredevils bat first, at least one of their top order batsmen - Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan have to last most of the innings to post a competitive total.

   Vs

 

Most Dangerous Players:

1. McGrath: Most of Delhi Daredevils' wins has been set up their bowlers. And McGrath has played a critical role in each of them. The way Chennai Super Kings' openers handle McGrath would decide the match.
2. Sehwag, Gambhir & Dhawan: If Chennai Super Kings did not get these players early, they will make Chennai Super Kings pay dearly.

My Prediction: Narrowest win for Chennai Super Kings

Trivia: Until now, Chennai Super Kings (Badrinath & Amarnath) and Delhi Daredevils (Dinesh & YoMahesh) have fielded equal number of Tamil Nadu players in the squad. So do watch out for TN vs TN contests.

New Players, New Look

With the departure of key players like Mathew Hayden, Hussey and Oram, and the arrival of two new players - Morkel and Ntini, Chennai Super Kings sports a new look. Now the task lies on the hands of Dhoni and the management to make these new guys feel at home and continue the winning momentum. Hope the players like Ntini, Morkel and Fleming understand their role and play them into perfection.

 

Makhaya Ntini:

My opinions about him remains the same as the one I wrote in my squad analysis. His lack of variations in his bowling arsenal creates doubts about his T20 viability. But his recent form in the Indian Test series should bode well for the team.

Albie Morkel:

Relatively unknown foreign player in the squad, he is the second highest paid player in the squad. A T20 specialist, his performance in the recent South African Domestic T20 tournament made headlines. While his tight bowling helped his team(Titans) all through Pro20 series, his quick fire 33 (from 17 balls) became the critical difference between two teams in the finals.

Stephen Fleming:

An astute reader of game and the situations, his presence in the top order is enough to quell any doubts about the strength of CSK's top order even after the departure of Hayden and Hussey.

 

Impact - Batting:

Departure of Hayden and Hussey has surely eroded the touch of invincibility in our batting lineup. But our bowling is getting strengthened. A positive thing about the departure is that the middle order batsmen like Badrinath would get more opportunities. Hope they make them count. I am expecting Suresh Raina to become the key player. Hereafter, you will hear more from commentators on how Chennai Super Kings' young batsmen are making their opportunities count. :)

Impact - Bowling: 

With Ntini and Morkel, Chennai Super Kings' bowling is surely strengthened. Hereafter, Dhoni cannot complain that Chennai Super Kings lacks strike bowlers. In experienced Ntini, Murali and young and upcoming Gony, Chennai Super Kings boast three world class strike bowlers and in Joginder and Albie Morkel, the team boasts two bowlers who had tighten the run rate in the middle overs.

News Snippets

1. Gony Doubtful for clash with daredevils: Chennai Super Kings' leading wicket taker, Gony is suffering from fever and is doubtful for tomorrow's match against Delhi Daredevils. If he does not recover from fever, expect Palani Amarnath to replace him in the squad.
2. Fit Balaji: L. Balaji is slowly reaching his 100% fitness. So we can expect him to make his IPL debut in next two or three matches. A decision on Balaji's fitness will be taken on the eve of tomorrow's match. A fit Balaji is sure to cause selection problems since a call between Balaji and 'final over specialist' Joginder has to be taken.
3. Super Kings walk the ramp: In a promotional event for Chennai Super Kings' sponsor - Peter England, Dhoni and his men walked the ramp in style. It was a fun to watch the players having fun in the event.
4. IPL hits theatres: Thanks to IPL, all the Tamil movies have taken a big hit in the theatres. The collection of the successful films like Santosh Subramaniam & Yaaradi Nee Mohini went down by more than 85%. Even Vijay postponed the release of his film - Kuruvi by one day so that it did not clash with CSK's match on April 2nd.

News Sources: Cricinfo, NDTV, tamilstar

Who's On The Rise ? Who's Slipping ? The IPL Table

Teams on The Rise:

1. Rajasthan Royals: After a slow start the overwhelming underdogs have humbled three major teams. Definitely the biggest surprise package so far.

2. King's X1 Punjab: Another slow start with Yuvraj looking completely clueless in the first 2 games, but they have got their act together with back to back wins. Finally, the impressive star cast is coming to form - Sangakkara, Katich, Lee, Hopes, Yuvraj, Jayawardene all delivering.

3. Deccan Chargers: A terrible start finally seems to have been halted with a Gilchrist special. If Gilchrist continues in this vein, this is the team to look out for.

4. Mumbai Indians: The worst imaginable start with 4 defeats in a row but finally a great win over the Knight Riders with the overseas stars coming to the party has got the campaign going. With the imminent return of Tendulkar, things might have turned a corner for the Mumbai Indians.

Teams Going Down
1. Kolkata Knight Riders: Two defeats after two wins and the batting really coming up with nothing after McCullum's fireworks.

2. Bangalore Royal Challengers: After a painstaking win at Mumbai, things are going from bad to worse for Dravid's men. Three consecutive losses and the morale can't be anywhere but in the dumps.

Holding Steady
1. Delhi Daredevils: One of the more consistent lineups, had a bit of a hiccup at Mohali, but got their campaign back on track with today's win.

2. Chennai Superkings: Yes ! Rock solid baby ! Right at the top ! With no competitor in sight ! This is beginning to look more and more like a seven team competition to see who can challenge the roaring Lion !!