KKR look to tame Lions at home
Chennai have remained unchanged right from the start of the season
By : s. bagawati prasad
Update: 2015-04-28 01:36 GMT
Chennai: What’s the story so far at Chennai Super Kings’ Chepauk fortress? The Devils lost the plot, the Eagles fell prey and the Kings from Punjab beat a hasty retreat. As Kolkata Knight Riders step into the lions’ lair — the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium — on Tuesday, M.S. Dhoni and his army will be keen to hand the visitors a ‘yellow’ pasting and make it four out of four at home.
While most teams make a lot of fuss about their team combination, Chennai have remained unchanged right from the start of the season. “We are not going to complicate things,” said CSK coach Stephen Fleming. Kolkata, on the other hand, face the combination conundrum of whether to field Morne Morkel or play off-spinner Johan Botha with no clear word yet on spinner Sunil Narine’s participation in the match.
Though Narine, who has been reported for suspect action, hasn’t been at his best this season claiming only two wickets at 7.35 runs per over, one can’t write him off on a turning track. Will Chennai get to witness ‘India’s Narine’ K.C. Cariappa in action?
While most coaches in the league brood over the four-player foreign rule, CSK have the luxury of even benching Australian veteran Mike Hussey. Ever since the departure of world’s leading all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, KKR have been rotating the Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate and Botha.
While the spotlight is on a few match-winners in most teams, Chennai are always deemed a match-winning unit. Skipper Dhoni has bowling options for every wicket and batsmen who can bully any attack into submission. The victory margins at home — Delhi by one run, SRH by 45 runs and Kings XI by 97 runs — indicate how CSK are improving with each match.
The biggest plus for third-placed Kolkata is the supreme form of their inspirational leader Gautam Gambhir, who has scored three 50s in five matches. The defending champions’ major concern would be the form of Robin Uthappa and No. 3 batsman Manish Pandey. The Karnataka duo — averaging 20.80 and 27 respectively — haven’t set the stage on fire right at the top.
KKR’s Yusuf Pathan may have been inconsistent, but the Baroda batsman’s alliance with the ever-innovative Suryakumar Yadav can make the deadly Chennai spin duo of R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja look ordinary.
Though it’s a contest between the defending champions and the team to beat in IPL, it might turn out to be the clash of the big-hitting Caribbean all-rounders — Dwayne Bravo (CSK) and Andre Russell (KKR).