CSK Scores Another Win

Chennai Super Kings are Back! How good it feels to write this... Now I just hope that they get a few wins under the belt in the next few matches and built that important momentum.

Positives:

1. Raina: A Stand Out Performance. But the most important thing for him is to follow this with more good performance this IPL. If that happens, it will take some attention from Mathew Hayden on whom all the opposition team are focusing on.
2. Fleming & Dhoni Getting a few selection issues sorted out: Tyagi showed his worth; Joginder Sharma is Out; Extra Spinner is In; Badrinath at No:4; All Correct Decisions;
3. Venky Showing Some Effort: After 3 poor performance of CSK Bowling, all the fans were asking what is Venky doing? Thanks to today's performance, atleast Venky has regained some respect from CSK Fans
4. Morkel & Oram: Morkel & Oram showing their impact in the bowling department. Hope they keep on improving. Nice to see each bowler understanding their roles.

Negatives:

1. Opening Batsman: Parthiv Patel has shown that he does not deserve to open in South African Pitches. A Solution has to be found to this problem soon or this will impact us in future matches.

Hope Chennai Super Kings comes up with another great performance for their match against Delhi Daredevils.

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MSD has finally listened to one of my biggest requests!

I suppose Dhoni has read this blog and realised that Badri would do well @ No.3 or 4, and has put him at 2-down. Finally, Badri will get a chance to play the role which he is supposed to play. Let's hope that he takes this opportunity and shows his worth at No.4 and cements a permenant slot!

Chennai Super Kings Vs Rajasthan Royals - Match Preview

"Unless you are a winner, you are a nobody"

Chennai Super Kings faces its do or die battle against Rajasthan Royals. While Chennai Super Kings would be looking forward to turn its fortune, Rajasthan Royals would come to the match confidently after its win against Delhi Daredevils.

CSK Playing XI: Expect Joginder Sharma to be dropped. Either Ashwin or Tyagi might come in based on the pitch conditions. Murali Vijay might also be given his debut. And Ntini might be brought in for Morkel to strengthen the bowling.

RR XI: Except for Smith, Yusuf, Munaf, Mascarenhas, Kamran and Jadeja, we don't have to worry about the rest

Most Dangerous Players

1. Yusuf Pathan: Any Doubts? He singlehandely defeated CSK in IPL Season 1 Finals. Will be hoping that he adds another Man of the Match to his kitty
2. Smith: Anchor man and the batsman around whom all the batsman play around. If he falls early, it would be a cakewalk for Chennai Super Kings.
3. Warne: The old fox still has a lot of tricks under his belt. Hope CSK Batsmen play him with respect.

Royal Contests:

1. Pathan Vs Murali: Will determine the match
2. Hayden Vs Warne: Hayden has been in great form. So it will be interesting to see how the old colleagues match up against each other.

Favorites: Though Rajasthan Royals has more points, Chennai Super Kings has class oozing all through the team and surely deserve to win atleast a few games in first half of Season 2 IPL.

Whom do you think will win the match?

Suggestions for Dhoni and Co.

Chennai faces its second do or die battle in the tournament. If it loses one more match in a trout, all the critics and fans would write them off. To prevent that from happening, the team have to win the next match and that too by a huge margin. So just thought of suggesting the few things that are staring at Dhoni's face and the facts that Dhoni chooses to ignore.

1. This is not an Indian Team: Dhoni still thinks that he is captaining an Indian team. Wake Up! Dhoni this is not an Indian team and this team requires your entire man management skills. Unlike last year, when everybody in the team were saying nice things about Dhoni, I am not hearing any thing this year. What Happened? Time to introspect?
2. You are our Pinch Hitter and Not our Anchor: Unlike Indian team, the batting role of Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings is not of sheet anchor but of a pinch hitter. A person who comes in the end and belts the opposition bowling to all sides of the park. CSK Management paid 1.5 million USD for Dhoni, the batsman who annihilate the bowlers and not for Dhoni, the Test batsman. Remember you are Yusuf Pathan of CSK and not Rahul Dravid of CSK.
3. Pick the best XI: Even after 3 losses, Dhoni has been very reluctant to change the non-performing players. First things first, remove Parthiv and Joginder Sharma off the squad.
4. Spinners Game: Rather than repeating the same old cliche that our bowlers failed us, think why the bowlers failed you. Is it because you and the coach have not yet understood the south african pitches and have not yet played Ashwin and Murali together?
   
5. Give the Young Talent a Chance: I still can't believe how a team could prefer parthiv over vijay and joginder over Tyagi except for the age old foolish belief of trusting experience over talent.
6. Assign each player a role: It seems nobody in the team knows their role. Assign each player - both the batsman and bowlers a role and play them accordingly. For e.g. ask Badrinath to be a anchor and bring him into the field as per the situation dictates.
7. Back Your Instincts: At the end of the day, all these suggestions are coming from a well intentioned fan and not from GOD. So the most important of all, always remember to back your instincts. Remember it is your instincts that made you a great captain and it will be your instincts that will help chennai super kings dug out of its hole.

Go! Dhoni! Go! Win the next match against Rajasthan Royals!

Extra Suggestion: Bring back Vidyut. Who Knows his spin combined with his batting prowess might make him a valuable player of the team.

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Team selections at the root of the problem!

As mentioned in an earlier post which Robin posted on my behalf, the composition of the team is what's seriously affecting the success of the team. The balance is clearly not there.

The battery of medium pacers is making our bowling too predictable. 4 medium pacers (Oram, Morkel, Sharma, Bala) is just 2 too many.

Don't get me wrong, what I mean by medium is someone who can't consistently bowl over 135 kmph.

Makhaya would clearly be a very good choice rather than Sharma. Though Makhaya's pace is not much to boast about, his bowling is fairly unorthodox. He bowls at a very different angle and was quite successful in India, so I don't see why he shouldn't be a hit at home when the pitches are really helping bowlers.

Morkel also doesn't seem very committed..his bowling lacks variety and he just doesn't seem to be able to hit boundaries when the team desperately needs them.

Murali Vijay would be a good option to replace him. I would put him at no.3 and push everyone else one slot down the order.

MSD has to realise that Badrinath is not a stroke player. He is good for rotating the strike and consolidating if required. He would be a better bet at No.4, rather than at No.7. That way he can really play his natural game.

CSK fans will remember when Badri made his highest IPL score of 60-odd last year. It was when the chips were down, we had lost 3 quick wickets and that was the perfect situation for Badri to really flourish! We ended up winning that game.

I hope MSD considers the above suggestions!

Is this the end for Chennai Super Kings?

Another Defeat. And most of Chennai Super Kings fans have started losing hope on the team. And they are right to do so. But let us not lose hope in our team.

They may have lost 3 matches. They may have got their entire team selection wrong. They may have not shown any team spirit on the field. The captain and the leader might not have contributed to the team's cause.

But still it is our team. Still it is the strongest team in IPL. It still has explosive batsmen like Hayden, Dhoni, Raina, Morkel and Oram. It still posses bowling talents like Gony, Murali, Balaji. We may have lost a few matches. But still this is a team of professionals and expect them to bounce back hard. And these losses would have helped the team to take a deeper look at itself. And It surely provides the team an opportunity to show its character to its fans. Whatever might have happened, I still believe we have a fair chance of making to the semi-finals. [We just have to win 6 of the 9 matches. An easy task for this team].

I hope and believe, my next match review would be after a win. Go! Super Kings! Go!

Chennai Super Kings Vs Deccan Chargers - Match Preview

Chennai’s matchup against the Charger is bound to be interesting. The Deccan Chargers are the most surprising team this year, having transformed from being the wooden spoon contenders to possibly challenging the likes of Delhi.

However, Chennai’s progress hasn’t been as smooth. The main reason can be said to be the poor selection policies that seem to be adopted.

Like my fellow blogger mentioned earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin was picked in the first match but didn’t bowl a single over. Albie Morkel just doesn’t seem to be able to raise his game when the stakes are high. I was very disappointed by his meek batting performance last season, and he seems to have carried that over to this year, even though the IPL is being staged in South Africa.

His clean hitting against the Aussies in Australia got me fairly excited as I was hoping he could replicate the same form on home soil but, in 3 games, it still hasn’t come.

Moreover, the fact that an agricultural batsman like Gony could whack a six on the first ball in the match against the Daredevils clearly showed that he could have imposed himself on the bowling if he had the will.

Perhaps the opportunity is ripe to bring in Thushara or Makhaya Ntini in for the injured Freddie Flintoff and Jacob Oram in for Albie Morkel.

One thing I have seen about Jacob even in his performances for the national side is that he doesn’t bat like Albie Morkel, who depends more on his own strength rather than hitting the ball properly. It would be apt to say that he is one of the few true all-rounders currently playing the game (the other being Kallis). He can play according to the situation and can truly send the ball into orbit, unlike Morkel, who blows hot and cold.

Therefore, the ideal line-up for today’s match would be:

1. Hayden

2. Patel

3. M.Vijay

4. Badri

5. Raina

6. MSD

7. Oram

8. Gony

9. Thushara

10. Murali

11. Bala

I would prefer it if MSD can put Badri up the order because he has to accept the fact that boundary-hitting doesn’t come easy to Badri. However, this doesn’t mean that he should be dropped. Instead, he should be sent in early so that he can get his eye in and then smash some to the fence rather than coming in the 17^th over and groping around in the dark!

Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkota Knight Riders – Aftermath

Its not very good to share the points in a match, which you could have won. CSK are the favorites to win this, but as luck would have it, we had to share the points.

Two other things missed because of this washout:

1. Much needed feeling of being back in the winning ways, before taking on the upbeat Deccan Chargers on Monday.
2. Some experimentation & match practice is lost. CSK could have tried some of the following guys - Ntini, Bailey, Ashwin, Tyagi, Vijay etc. as KKR is a bit weaker.

Two good things from the washout:

1. Thankfully, it was not a 5-over game or something very short, in those chilling conditions that the match becomes a complete gamble, and CSK lose both points.
2. CSK Team manager’s blog says that Flintoff had gelled very well with the other teammates. So, this washout would have given the team sometime to regroup after Flintoff’s sudden departure.
   

Road forward:

There is still a long way to go, and good teams will eventually settle on the top half of the table. Delhi and Mumbai look like they will surely end up in the top half. So, I would say CSK would be competing with Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals for the last two spots. Remember, though Deccan Chargers look like sure favorites as well right now, their strike bowler Fidel Edwards would be leaving soon for the England-West Indies test series. So, with a bit more effort CSK will surely make it to the top half in the end.

So, cheer up guys !! J

Chennai Super Kings Vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match Preview

Chennai Super Kings will be facing its first do or die battle. After 2 losses, Both Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders could not afford to lose one more game. So it would be interesting to see how the players match up against each other.

CSK Playing XI: Though the fans & well-wishers would like to see a lot of changes in the team, I am sure Dhoni & Co. would like to retain the same squad. Though the team would be tempted to play Tyagi ahead of Joginder Sharma.

KKR Playing XI: Don't expect to see much changes. But with the drama going around the club, nothing is predictable.

Most Dangerous Players:

1. Chris Gayle: He has been in great form and giving good starts for the team. Hope Chennai Super Kings take his wicket early.
2. Ajanta Mendis: How could KKR afford not to play him for 2 matches? He proved his worth on IPL Debut. If Chennai Super Kings Batsmen negate him, it would be cakewalk for Chennai Super Kings players.

Royal Contests:

1. Dhoni Vs Mendis: Dhoni has handled Ajantha Mendis pretty well until now. But it would be interesting to see how he handles him in T20s.
2. Ganguly Vs Murali: Ganguly is the rock on which the entire KKR team is built. And I believe the way Ganguly handles Murali would determine the match.

Favorites: Chennai Super Kings. Even though Chennai Super Kings Team Management are committing enormous amount of mistakes, Kolkata Knight riders team does not deserve to win.

IPL 2009 Hero - Fake IPL Player - claims that KKR are targeting Mathew Hayden as the most dangerous player. So it would be interesting to see to watch whether Haydos is able to come trumps against all KKR Strategies.

Flintoff Returns Home

Cricinfo reports that Andrew Flintoff has returned home from the Indian Premier League to undergo surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee. Really a sad news considering that we were all expecting a lot from Flintoff. And he has not done any justice to his talent until now. Hope he has a great IPL Season next year. 

What Went Wrong?

We have lost 2 out of 3 matches. While a lot of fans may give a lot of excuses like we were unlucky to meet the top teams in our first three matches, we played well but lost, etc. I don't accept any of them. With the potential this team has, it should have won both the games easily. But first let us see what went wrong:

1. Pathetic Team Selection: Murali did not play in the first match; Ashwin never bowled though he played the match; Joginder Sharma still plays for CSK.
2. Utilizing the Players Foolishly: If Flintoff is our strike bowler, why is he bowling at the death. Why Badri is playing lower down the order? Why is Dhoni going higher up in the order always? Why is Parthiv preferred over Vijay? Why is Balaji - a fine death bowler not utilized at the death overs?
3. Defensive Mindset: A Lot of times, it seems the team plays with a very defensive mindset. CSK should not forget that they hvae promised the fans that they would be "Fearless Entertainers who play to win'

Thanks to Hayden, we lost both the matches with pride. But if not for Hayden, the opposition teams would have annihilated us. Hope some wisdom prevails and Fleming & Dhoni get their act together.

First Things First

• Ask Morkel not to rest on his last year laurels and start performing again
• Send Badrinath at No:4
• Let Dhoni come in at No: 6 or at No:7
• Open the bowling attack with Flintoff & Gony
• Give Tyagi a chance ahead of Joginder Sharma
• Use Balaji as a death bowler
• Bring Vijay in the place of Parthiv Patel

Hope somebody in the team listens to the fans. Otherwise, we will be watching Deccan Chargers repeat of the last season i.e. pre tournament favorites ending in the bottom of the table.

What do you think went wrong? What do you think should be done to rectify the situation?

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Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils: Match Review

Scorecard

Delhi Daredevils: 189/5
de Villiers 105*, Dilshan 50, Balaji 3-19

Chennai Super Kings: 180/9
Hayden 57, Raina 41, Sangwan 3-28, Vettori 2-29

Chennai lost by 9 runs.

Team Performance

It was a day of clear skies. But it wasn't all so shining for Chennai Super Kings, a bright start to the game notwithstanding. The quick wickets of Gambhir and Sehwag were what was needed. But our team failed to capitalise on this and somehow lost the plot along the way. Our batsmen knew we needed big runs to lay the foundation for the chase. Hayden gave exactly this. However we kept losing wickets continuously, bringing the slide ending in our defeat.

Bowling / Fielding
1st Half
Got off to a good start with Gambhir falling on the opening ball of the match and Sehwag capitulating in the second over. Gave away lots of runs in the subsequent overs against Dilshan and de Villiers. End of 10 overs, DD were at 90/3 with our local guy Dinesh Karthik at crease.

2nd Half
Morkel missed the easy and crucial catch of de Villiers. Didn't have much of an effect on DD's batting. They were simply unstoppable. Balaji was the only bright spot in our gloomy bowling performance.

In short, this was another sloppy performance by us while bowling first. We gave away the first century of IPL.

Batting
1st Half
Got off to the start that was needed on this occasion, with Hayden laying a very strong foundation with a battery of fours and sixes. End of 10 overs, CSK were 106/2 with Dhoni and Raina at crease.

2nd Half
The strategic break didn't help us much. We were running our singles and twos while Dhoni got out cheaply. Raina anchored our batting, scoring runs at a good clip. We seemed to be on the way to win this match. Raina's wicket turned out to be the crucial turning point of our batting. We were done by DD's good bowling towards the end, we were done by our bad bowling towards the end.

Overall, a few positives to be taken away from our batting and a definite improvement needed in our bowling. We seem to be better off in defending a big total than bowling first to contain the opposition.

The batsmen must be commended for keeping up the hopes. All that is needed is a right mindset and consistent performance from our bowlers would help propel us to the knockout stages.

Player Performances

Mathew Hayden [57 runs]: 8/10
Humdinger of a batting. Hayden has always been a star batsman for CSK, and he's just been proving it time and again. Good support at the other end would have taken us to the finishing line.

Parthiv Patel [16 runs]: 4/10
Played second fiddle to Hayden. However, he got out cheaply when trying to accelerate his scoring. Very little contribution to the team's cause today.

Suresh Raina [41 runs]: 7/10
A good performance. Raina's delivered when it was a key time for CSK. With his one/two boundaries every over, CSK was still in the driver's seat for snatching a victory.

Andrew Flintoff [0-50; 16 runs]: 5/10
Poor bowling performance, again. Gave away lots of runs just like in the first match against Mumbai Indians. An outstanding catch to bag the wicket of Dinesh Karthik off Balaji's bowling was the only positive in the first half. Not much of a contribution with the bat also.

MS Dhoni [5 runs]: 3/10
It was definitely a bad day for our captain, failing to bring out the magic both while captaining as well as during his batting. Did it have something to do with his decision to keep wickets? Anyway, a better performance was expected from him.

S Badrinath [7 runs]: 2/10
Poor performance, not much contribution to the cause.

Albie Morkel [1-41; 13* runs]: 4/10
Morkel's first bowling spell didn't go well. He got hit all over the park by Dilshan and de Villiers in the first over. But made up partially by picking up wicket of Dilshan in his second over.
Fielding was also average. Missed the all important catch of de Villiers. A lot was expected from him while batting, but he didn't manage to hit the big fours and sixes when needed the most.

Joginder Sharma [0-8; 4 runs]: 2/10
Average bowling. Got to bowl just one over.

L Balaji [3-19; 0 runs]: 7/10
A stark contrast to the overall poor bowling performance. Got the first ball wicket of Gambhir, though a little lucky. Followed this up with a consistent bowling performance, taking three wickets in all.

Manpreet Gony [1-45; 6 runs]: 5/10
Had a good first over by bagging the wicket of Sehwag. However, he wasn't able to sustain the good performance in the subsequent overs.

Muthiah Muralitharan [0-26; 0* runs]: 4/10
Average performance from the spin wizard.

CSK Scores its First Win

After a poor performance in the first match, Chennai Super Kings are back in style. They played a near perfect script. After scoring an imposing total, the bowlers did a great job by restricting Bangalore Royal Challengers to 100 odd runs. They achieved all this without even playing their best. I am sure this team would provide a lot more great performances like today. 

Positives:

1. Hayden's Performance: This performance from Hayden would deflect the attention from all the other players in team, helping them to play to their strengths
2. Murali is Back: Finally Some wisdom prevails. Murali is back in the squad and he shows his importance to the team. Hope Fleming & Dhoni don't repeat the mistake of dropping him.
3. Flintoff: Can anyone disagree that it was beautiful to see Flintoff & Murali bowling in tandem? Hope they repeat the performance for 2 more matches

Negatives:

1. Team Selection: Though Parthiv Patel was a part of a century partnership, Vijay is a better batsman than Parthiv and deserve to play if Parthiv is not keeping wickets. Dhoni & Fleming! Please give Tyagi a chance. He deserves it. 
2. Strategic Breaks: Chennai Super Kings has not yet got hold of strategic breaks and floundered in both the matches after these breaks. Hope Fleming comes with a way to make a better use of Strategic Breaks. 
3. Badrinath: I am shouting from first IPL Season that Badri deserves a place in the top 4 or 5 in the batting order. Hope I get to see that at least this year. 
4. Opening Bowlers: It is time Gony & Co. get their act together. Otherwise, Sehwag & Co. would tear them apart in the next match. 

Hope Chennai Super Kings comes up with another great performance for their match against Delhi Daredevils. 

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Wanted! Contributors for This Blog!

Hi everybody!

Really happy to share that RSS + Email Subscription for this CSK Fan Blog touched 200 for the first time today. Hope the blog continues to grow at the same rate. To achieve that, we are looking for contributors for this blog. If anybody interested, please put your email id below in the comments. I will get back in touch with you..

Chennai Super Kings Vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Match Preview

After a disappointing performance yesterday, Chennai Super Kings would be moving to Port Elizabeth tomorrow for their second match against Bangalore Royal Challengers. As Royal Challengers showed today, they are capable of not only winning against a team but also annihilating them. 

CSK Playing XI

I expect Dhoni & Co. to bring in Albie Morkel for Thilan Thushara. But I just hope that they also bring in Murali for Oram and replace Ashwin with Balaji and Joginder Sharma with Tyagi. Hope the team management soon settles on the best eleven. Sooner they do, better it is for the team. 

BRC Playing XI

Bangalore Royal Challengers may also change the winning squad. Kallis might come in for Ross Taylor to strengthen the bowling and Vinay Kumar might be replaced by Wasim Jaffer. 

Most Dangerous Players

1. Kevin Pietersen: Any Doubts??? Personally expect him to score a century in this IPL. Just hoping that it is not against us.. 
2. Robin Uthappa: Might not have a great first match in front of the stumps. But expect him to start scoring soon
3. Praveen Kumar: If the pitch provides any assistance (which it is expected to), expect this bowler to rock the operning batsman. 

Royal Contests:

1. Praveen Kumar Vs Hayden: For Chennai Super Kings to win this match, Hayden has to annihilate the opposition bowling attack. So it would be a hell of contest between Hayden and BRC Opening Bowlers - Praven Kumar and Dale Steyn.
2. Pietersen Vs Flintoff: Both the teammates would be crossing swords for the first match. And both the players have not yet fully justified their price tag. So expect them to put their best foot forward. 

Favorites: Bangalore Royal Challengers

Whoever wins, I am expecting this match would be setting the entire IPL on fire. Hope Chennai Super Kings play with much more passion than what was shown in the last match. 

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News Snippets

1. Chennai Super Kings are Still Favorites: Even after three weeks, Chennai Super Kings remain the favorites among the betting community. Read the earlier odds @ Chennai Super Kings are Favorites. [News Source: HT]
2. Dhoni, the Most Valued Player: Though Freddie might be paid more than Dhoni in this season, the insurance cover for each of IPL Players clearly shows that Dhoni is the most valued player among not only CSK Stars but also among the entire IPL Contingent. Dhoni has been insured for 52 Crore Rupees by the team. [News Source: ThFire]
3. Entire Team is Fit and Raring To Go: In the last week, the remaining stars of Chennai Super Kings - Dhoni, Oram, Flintoff, etc. joined the team. As per the team reports, all the members are fit and raring to go. Guys Get Ready

Happy Birthday Murali

சென்னை மாப்பிள்ளைக்கு பிறந்த நாள் வாழ்த்துகள்!!!!

In all the hype around IPL - Season 2 inaugural match, let us not forgot to wish the king of dosra. Muttiah Muralitharan turns 37 today and his Chennai Super Kings team-mates celebrated the occasion in style, leaving the Sri Lankan off-spinner rather overwhelmed.

Photo Source: SJ Jagadeesh

Chennai Super Kings Win Practice Matches Easily

Chennai Super Kings won both their practice matches against Dolphins pretty easily. While Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina's 120 run partnership helped Chennai Super Kings to set up a match winning 180 run target, Chennai Super Kings bowlers led by Ashwin, Oram & Amarnath set up the win. Mathew Hayden powered their batting in the second match. See Scores below for more details:

Chennai Super Kings Vs Nashua Dolphins Scorecard - April 14, 2008

Chennai Super Kings innings:

Parthiv Patel st Barnes b Karthick 51 (36b, 6 x 4)
Matthew Hayden c Miller b Sewola 9 (6b, 2 x 4)
Suresh Raina c Miller b Sewola c Mlongo b Delport 70 (41b, 8 x 4, 2 x 6)
S Badrinath c Delport b Mlongo 3 (6b)
George Bailey c Karthick b Imraan Khan 19 (12b, 2 x 6)
Abhinav Mukund c Barnes b Imraan Khan 5 (7b)
R Ashwin (not out) 6 (5b)
Joginder Sharma b Mlongo 1 (5b)
Manpreet Gony (not out) 7 (3b, 1 x 4)
Extras: 9
Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs): 180.

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Hayden), 2-130 (Patel), 3-136 (Raina), 4-144 (Badrinath), 5-160 (Mukund), 6-167 (Bailey), 7-170 (Joginder).

Bowling: K Abbot 4-0-23-0; Sewola 3-0-42-1 (1nb); Mlongo 4-0-36-1 (1w); Suresh Kumar 2-0-19-0 (2w); Delport 2-0-16-1; Arun Karthick 2-0-14-1; Imraan Khan 2-0-11-3; A Amla 1-0-14-0 (2w).

Nashua Dolphins innings:

Imraan Khan c Badrinath b Tyagi 2 (10b)
A Amla c Patel b Joginder 13 (11b, 2 x 4)
C Delport c Raina b Joginder 19 (17b, 3 x 4)
Suresh Kumar c Bailey b Ashwin 15 (15b, 1 x 6)
G Addicott st Patel b Muralitharan 5 (6b, 1 x 4)
Arun Karthick c Tyagi b Gony 30 (26b, 1 x 4, 3 x 6)
D Miller b Muralitharan 16 (13b, 1 x 4, 1 x 6)
B Barnes c Bailey b Muralitharan 2 (7b)
K Abbott (run out – Patel) 12 (14b, 2 x 4)
S Mlongo st Patel b Ashwin 1 (3b)
M Sewola (not out) 1 (2b)
Extras: 23

Total (all out ): 139

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Khan), 2-31 (Amla), 3-42 (Delport), 4-59 (Addicott), 5-61 (Kumar), 6-95 (Miller), 7-100 (Barnes), 8-136 (Abbott), 9-136 (Karthick), 10-139 (Mlongo).

Bowling: Manpreet Gony 4-0-22-1 (1nb, 1w); Sudeep Tyagi 4-0-32-1 (5w); Joginder Sharma 4-0-23-2 (1w); Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-32-3 (2w); R Ashwin 3.3-0-26-2.

Chennai Super Kings Vs Nashua Dolphins Scorecard - April 16, 2008
Dolphins 104 all out in 18 overs (D Miller 26, Jacob Oram 2 for 8, Palani Amarnath 3 for 19, R Ashwin 4 for 18, L Balaji 1 for 23) lost to Chennai Super Kings 177 for 5 in 20 overs (Matthew Hayden 65, S Badrinath 28, Jacob Oram 22 not out, L Balaji 28 not out, Thilan Thushara 3 for 17).

Fun & Practice - Chennai Super Kings Stars

Following VB Chandrasekar's blog in the official website is becoming more and more enjoyable every day. His updates in the blog are interesting and makes the team more humane. Today he updated about the journey of the team from Chennai to Durban and the practice sessions going in Durban. 

Fun TidBit No:1

Everybody pulling George Bailey's legs when he wore his newly bought watch in Dubai Duty Free shop on his right hand and viewed it from different angles in the mirror. This followed even during the breakfast conversation the next day. :D

Fun Tidbit No:2
Suresh Raina busy snapping pictures with the flash going off on sleeping team mates. 

Fun Tidbit No:3
Kasi (Viswanathan, the cricket manager), so used to having the cell phone glued to his ears, continued to hold his hand on the ear while talking between his naps.

Back To Work

Fleming the Tough Master

Flemo blends simple truths of the game with tough tones to reiterate the smart plays required to maintain our status as the hunted. From the relatively unknown to being chased is indeed a case of being the favorites vs the underdogs.

Hayden the Pro

Haydos getting into his batting drills with George Bailey on the second day of practice at Durban. The others - Vidyut, Badri and Abhinav – watched, learning all the time. Finally, a chat about how to focus on the ball with the head over it while hitting besides working the cow shots, was an educative experience for the boys.

Impressing Bowlers 

The wickets had bounce and the bowlers like (Manpreet) Gony and (Sudeep) Tyagi impressed with the steep lift. (I am sure it is going to be a touch call on whom to pick of these two)

How I wish Chennai Super Kings Website team has a RSS Feed for each of the blogs. Hmm.. Anyway you can hear all Chennai Super Kings News Updates by subscribing to this blog through RSS or entering your email address below: 

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Want to Play with Chennai Super Kings?

If you are one of the fans dreaming of an opportunity to play with Chennai Super Kings, '7up Lemon Pattalam' contest might be the right contest for you. The contest would be a unique opportunity for the fans to interact and pit themselves against the stars of their favourite team. 

Want to know how to win the contest?
To grab the chance to be a part of the ‘7up Lemon Pattalam’, CSK Fans need to collect 7 crowns or PET labels of 7UP and register themselves in groups of 7 (which is 1 team) at select venues. The activation will be on in 7 cities of Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Tirupur, Tirunavelli and Chennai. Depending on the number of registrations, there will be intra-city matches, from which one ‘City Champion’ will be selected from each location. Each of these ‘City Champions’ will then play against each other. The winning team from these intercity matches gets the chance to be a part of the ‘7up Lemon Pattalam’ which will play against CSK in one of their practice matches in South Africa.

Crucial TidBit: The 7up style cricket will be a game of seven overs with seven balls per over.

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News Source: Expressbuzz

My Wishlist from Chennai Super Kings Management

Until now, I have been happy with the way N. Srinivasan & Co have run Chennai Super Kings Team. They have taken various intelligent decisions [like bidding for Dhoni & Freddie] and done a lot of things smartly. As a testament to that, Chennai Super Kings today boasts a huge number of die-hard fans. [And I am sure it has the highest number of fans for any IPL franchise] But still there are a few things in a fan's wish list which the management team should do. Listing down my top three wishlist for Chennai Super Kings management team:

1. Increased Interaction with Fans: Though there has been a lot of lip-service for Chennai Super Kings fans, the management team has not done anything concrete or anything exclusive until now. [Only thing they have done is asking VB to blog on the website. Thanks to the blog, today we know the thinking behind various things going in the club]. They can kick-start the interaction with the fans by helping in creating a Chennai Super Kings Supporters Association that acts as an intermediate between the fans and the management.
2. A Responsibile Citizen: As a team that carries "Chennai" on its name, Chennai Super Kings would be expected to contribute actively to various social activities in Chennai and be a responsible member of the society. A simple step like donating a 1% of the profit to Social activities would go a long way in becoming a part of Chennai itself
3. Farm System: In the intial few seasons with a limit on spending on the players, the money power of the few of the team owners might not make any difference. But I am sure, the depth of the pockets would matter with the increasing maturity of IPL. So the only way for the team to compete with Ambanis & Mallyas, would be by building a farm system that delivers talent to the team, year-after-year. Hope Chennai Super Kings recognizes this and creates a proper system for this.

What is there in your wishlist from CSK management?. Write them in the comments section or Join Exclusive Chennai Super Kings Fan Social Network + Community Today and discuss with other passionate fans of Chennai Super Kings.

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News Snippets

1. Wisdom Prevails: After thinking long and hard about taking only 18 players to South Africa, wisdom has dawned on Chennai Super Kings management. They have decided to take 27 players to IPL. Good Move! [Update: But the team forgets to mention that they are leaving our Viraj Kadbe & Shadab Jakati from the touring team]
2. UnLucky Number '13': The Wisdom to take most of the players prevailed mostly because of the marketing team who convinced 13 brands to associate with the team. There is also an Australian Beer Brand - Fosters in the list. Hope Chennai's famous Morale Police don't take any offence to this.
3. 'Masseur' from Australia: As N. Srinivasan said in his press conference today, they are not going to leave any stone unturned to bring the best support staff for Chennai Super Kings. So Roney Parry from Australi joins the team as its masseur.

News Snippets

1. Tickets Sold-Out: IPL Critics, who believed that IPL @ South Africa would be a huge failure, are in for a surprise. The tickets for the first match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians has been sold out within hours of going sale online. As the trend points out, expect a huge crowd turnout for all the IPL matches
2. Star Spotting: With the presence of cricket stars in Chennai for IPL preparation, star spotting has begun. TOI caught Parthiv, Raina & Gony in a party at Sheraton Park and dutifully reported the news. [:)]

Michael Hussey to Miss IPL

On the background of the doubts regarding the availability of Oram for IPL, another blow has struck Chennai Super Kings Fans. Michael Hussey announced today that he is going to pull himself out of this IPL Season in an effort to reinvigorate himself ahead of the Ashes. Though Hussey could have attended the last two weeks of IPL, he has decided to take a much needed rest for his body and mind.

On hearing the news, V B Chandrasekar commented that

"It is a big disappointment for us, but we have got to respect his need to take rest. No doubt, we will miss him a lot. He was expected to play from the ninth game onwards and play a crucial role. Flintoff leaves by then and we thought, if the bowling gets weakened a bit, our battig would have got stronger."

Disappointed with Hussey's Decision, post your views in Chennai Super Kings Fan Forum or write your comments below.

News Update

Kasi Viswanathan of the Super Kings asserted that there has no official communication from Hussey regarding his reported non-availability. Though Hussey has informed the management about being a little late than other Australian international players, he has not yet officially communicated the unavailability for the entire tournament.

News Source: Cricinfo

Hayden Back @ 'Home Away from Home'

Former Australian Opening Batsman Matthew Hayden arrived in Chennai on April 2. 2009 and joined the Chennai Super Kings practice session on Friday in preparations for the 2009 Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament commencing in South Africa on April 18.

Disappointed with Shifting of Venues

That was the first words that came out of Hayden during his chat with the press yesterday at Chennai. He confessed that he would miss Chepauk especially its crowd.

Expect Fireworks

Though the bowlers would have chance in South African pitches, Hayden promised the fans there would be a lot of fireworks, thanks to smaller grounds and higher altitudes.

Oram May Pull Out of IPL

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said he will pull out of the IPL if he does not recover from his Achilles Tendon injury before New Zealand first-class championship game starting April 5. He strongly denied suggestions that he was trying to save himself for the Twenty20 event by not playing in the ongoing Test Series against India which the Kiwis trail 0-1.

"I can understand people thinking I'm cotton-wooling myself but I'll definitely take myself out [of the IPL] if I don't get through the final," Oram told the Dominion Post. "I 'm pretty confident I will make the final and I won't be tiptoeing through five days of cricket. I'm going to hit it hard, and deep down I think I'll be okay."

Hope he does play the game and also be a part of the Chennai Super Kings squad for this season IPL.

News Update

Chandrasekhar has come out in the public and said that it will be a big blow for Chennai Super Kings if Oram is unable to play the IPL. He has also confirmed that Dhoni and Fleming are trying to convince Oram to play the tournament. I hope Dhoni and Fleming are able to convince Oram to play for IPL Chennai team whether he is able to play in five days or not. Even if he is not fit at the beginning of the season, since his presence would be crucial once Flintoff departs.

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Last Season Surprise Super Kings Star Gony is Ready

Last year, Manpreet Gony emerged out of blue moon and wearing the yellow uniform, showed his potential. In the process, he also won the hearts of every Chennai Super Kings Fan. was surely one of the most amazing success stories of the first Indian Premier League and a story that stands as a testament to the entire IPL Concept especially considering the history of Gony. [Read the real life story about a loving husband and a heart broken parent and why I want Gony to succeed]. Yeah, He also won all the hearts of Chennai Super Kings Fan during this period.

Will Meet Huge Expectations

But this year we all have huge expectations from Gony and the Mohali pacer is well aware of that fact. He has promised that he will try to do better, both in terms of his own bowling and congtributing to the team's success.

Thank You Dhoni

Gony believes that Gony's trust in the team made a huge difference in the last year “That was the turning point. Dhoni had so much trust in me — I was an unknown player but he made sure I didn’t feel that way,” he says, adding, “I am in touch with Dhoni in New Zealand too.”

Hope Gony & Dhoni Combo wins a few games this season. I am sure choosing between Tyagi and Gony is going to be a huge headache for Dhoni & Fleming.

News Source: Indian Express

Super Kings Clinch Durban as base

After earning the support from Port Elizabeth, Chennai Super Kings Management is leaving no stones unturned to establish their fan base in South Africa. As a first step, Chennai Super Kings Management have clinched the most favored South African Ground - Durban as their base for their five day training. Hope Dhoni & Co. are enable to enamour Indian Cricket fans in Durban and attract them to become a member of Chennai Super Kings Fan Brigade.

According to CSK Management, "it was the best thing that could have happened to the team" before the tournament. Chennai Super Kings team will have their camp in Durban from April 8 with 23 players. [Anybody, let me know who are the players missing out from the list?]. There, the team may play a couple of practice games, and CSA has promised to extend full support.

On April 16, the team will move to Cape Town for a carnival that is being organized by the IPL organising committee.

News Source: TOI

Port Elizabeth to Support Chennai Super Kings

Great News! There is going to be another huge addition to ever growing Chennai Super Kings Fans. People from Port Elizabeth were looking for the opportunity to identify with a certain franchise and adopt them as their own. So Alvin Reeves, Chief Sports Reporter of The Herald took upon himself to pick out the team that Port Elizabeth should support.

"Chennai Super Kings will feature in four of the seven matches to be played at Sahara Oval St. George's. So if PE folks are looking for a team to support, the Super Kings would be the logical choice. What's more, they will have players like Muttiah Muralitharan, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Stephen Fleming and Andrew Flintoff as their overseas stars and Dhoni & Raina from the Indian Contingent. "

Hope to see folks from Port Elizabeth in Chennai Super Kings Exclusive Fan Social Network soon.

News Source: Weekend Post