IPL 6: Chennai look for experimenting few players

Date – 30th April 2013

Time – 8.00 p.m (IST)

Chennai Super Kings are sitting comfortably at the top of the table while Warriors are sinking at the bottom of the table. Chennai are riding on sea of confidence with an emphatic win against the defending Champions KKR, while Pune Warriors have no answers regarding their performance in this season’s IPL.

Chennai handled the pressure brilliantly against the Knight Riders and came up trumps. Chennai’s key protagonist, Hussey, has been in sublime form and he also showed that he can turn aggressive when the situation demands. Saha has denied a spot for Vijay in the playing XI as he played a good little innings against the Knight Riders. With Chennai Super Kings sitting comfortably at the top of the table, this would probably be the right time to experiment some of the players. They could bring Albie Morkel into the squad at the expense of Dwayne Bravo. They should promote Badrinath up the order to see what he can do when the team is in a commanding position. They can also think of promoting Albie Morkel at the top of the order. Also, Dirk Nannes should play despite a poor bowling performance against the Knight Riders as he has just recovered from an injury. Let Anirudha Srikkanth also play at the expense of Saha. These are a few things that MS Dhoni can experiment before they play Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

Pune Warriors, on the other hand, are clueless. They changed their captains, but it did not work. Aaron Finch has been the stand-out performer for Pune Warriors, together with Uthappa. Yuvraj Singh hasn’t fired for Pune Warriors on a consistent basis. But Bhuvaneswar Kumar has always given them hope with his impressive bowling performance, especially with the new-ball. Ashok Dinda hasn’t been accurate in the death overs. Consequently, Pune Warriors have a significant task at hand when they face the steady Chennai Super Kings, and the last thing they want is a loss at home.

Pitch and Conditions

The wicket at Pune generally favours the side batting first. It looks dry, but is expected to get slower as the game progresses. There is a possibility of dew late night and therefore it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bowl first. But if Chennai wins the toss, they would certainly bat first as they have quality batsmen at the top, who are in ominous form.

Players to watch

Ravichandran Ashwin – He has been the most reliable bowler for Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni generally uses him as a strike bowler. But he didn’t complete his four overs against Kolkata as he was clobbered for sixes all over the park. He is a quick learner and also has the reputation of coming back with a good bowling performance in the next game.

Aaron Finch – Aaron Finch has provided the start at the top of the order, but the rest of the batsmen failed to exploit the start. Perhaps they don’t know to handle the pressure situations. Yet again, he will hold the key for the Pune Warriors. He also scored 67 against Chennai Super Kings at Chennai and would probably look to replicate the same at Pune. But it’s certainly a tough task given the form Super Kings are in at the moment.

Prediction

There’s no doubt in everybody’s mind, especially when the Super Kings are in sublime form. Chennai looks a better side than Pune Warriors. But if Dhoni makes several changes, in that case, it would be a testing time for Chennai. Otherwise, Chennai Super Kings are favourites to win this match.