CLT20: Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad- Five talking points

The Chennai Super Kings beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs in a Group B match in the Champions League T20 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.

Batting first Chennai Super Kings, powered by splendid knocks from Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, managed to set a target of 203. In reply, despite the valiant efforts of captain Shikhar Dhawan and Darren Sammy, the Sunrisers Hyderabad fell short by 12 runs.

Murali Vijay is on his last legs

Murali Vijay’s form is a concern for CSK

Murali Vijay was dismissed for a duck for the second consecutive time in the tournament. On both occasions, he was convincingly outdone by the bowler, making him look out of depth at this level. His exploits in IPL 6, 312 runs in 15 innings at an average of 22.28 and strike-rate of 109.09, does not support his case either. It is quite evident that he is being given an extended rope by the CSK management to prove his case.

It is not just a temporary blip; even in IPL 5 he had only one 50+ score to his name. The Tamil Nadu batsman, who was retained by the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2011 auction, may not be shown the favour this time around.

In the short-term, CSK will be well served if they replace him with Wriddhiman Saha or promote Subramaniam Badrinath to open along with Michael Hussey. One more failure may just prompt M.S. Dhoni to look at other options.