In a long drawn competition with tight schedules and back-to-back matches, it is always difficult to sustain a winning momentum with the inevitable blip always lurking around the corner.
The ability to overcome these blips and turnaround tough situations is what makes a great side stand above an average one. Chennai Super Kings once again showed in its match against Royal Challengers Bangalore why it has been the most consistent and successful side in the tournament.
After three wins, the crushing eight-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals came as a reality check for the two-time champion, but it managed to bounce back in style, demolishing RCB in its typical clockwork fashion — posting a big total and backing it up on the field with tight bowling and letting the asking rate force errors.
With back-to-back matches at home against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday and Kolkata Knight Riders on April 28, the team will like to take full advantage of the home conditions.
It will now feel confident in the fact that all its batsmen have had decent hits, with Suresh Raina, who had a sedate start, coming good with a rapid 62 that cushioned the late collapse in the innings, and Faf du Plessis getting some runs under his belt.
However, the big worry for the team will be the form of Ravindra Jadeja, whose struggle since the World Cup has carried on. While spinner R. Ashwin did not bowl a lot in the last three matches, he will have a much bigger role to play at home.
CSK has always believed in maintaining a consistent side and not tinkering with the playing set-up, unless it is pushed to the wall.
But, it will be interesting to see if the team management gives the left-arm spinner a break and plays Pawan Negi or even Irfan Pathan, if the latter is fit.
Kings XI, on the other hand, is coming into the game on the back of a nail-biting encounter against the Royals, in which it prevailed in a super over to secure only its second win of the tournament from five matches.
Last year’s runner-up, which defeated CSK thrice in the 2014 edition, will hope to use this psychological edge in an important encounter. Another defeat will seriously put it in a situation where it could face the onerous task of needing to win all its remaining fixtures.
The team’s top order has been inconsistent, with only skipper George Bailey steadying the ship. But, its main concern will be the form of Glenn Maxwell and it will be hoping the Aussie can turn it around on Saturday and give an impetus to its resurgence.
The team now has some selection headaches as Bailey, who missed the last game, returns, while his replacement Shaun Marsh has made a strong claim with a crucial knock of 65 in pursuit of 191 in the previous game. The team management will have to take a call on whether to stick with Maxwell or go with Marsh as the fourth foreign player. The former, though, provides an off-spin option on a wicket where there will be some purchase for the spinners, and that could tilt the balance in his favour.
Weather factor
With heavy showers lashing the city on Friday evening and chances of more during the match, the toss could be a crucial factor.
CSK coach Stephen Fleming said the threat of rain forced the team to take more risks while batting in its last match and one can expect a similar approach if the team bats first.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Ashish Nehra, Baba Aparajith, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, Ishwar Pandey, Matt Henry, Mithun Manhas, Mohit Sharma, Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Samuel Badree, Suresh Raina, Ronit More, Michael Hussey, Rahul Sharma, Kyle Abbott, Ankush Bains, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Andrew Tye and Eklavya Dwivedi.
Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (capt), Anureet Singh, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Yogesh Golwalkar, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Beuran Hendricks, Mitchell Johnson, Karanveer Singh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Nikhil Naik, Axar Patel, Thisara Perera, Wriddhiman Saha, Sandeep Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Shivam Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra.
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