IPL 6: Match 38 - CSK vs KKR - Chennai Super Kings Preview

Teams – Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Time – 4 pm IST

Chennai have now made a habit of winning matches from seemingly improbable situations. So much so, that opposition teams don’t really know what a good target is to defend either at the beginning of the CSK innings or when they go into the final 5 overs of the match. CSK back their strong middle order to deliver and they deliver more often than not, much more often in fact than the rest of the teams.

The batting looks as strong as ever with quality that runs through the depths of CSK’s batting line-up. With well-crafted roles and batsmen playing them to perfection, the batsmen are primarily responsible for CSK staking a strong claim at a place in the knockouts at the half-way stage of the league stage of their campaign.

The bowling, however, is the department that needs a little more improvement. There is no top quality bowler operating in the power-play overs. Mohit Sharma and Jason Holder haven’t done a bad job but they are likely to be taken apart under pressure situations with the lack of lateral movement in their bowling. Also, the strategy of starting with Bravo as late as possible is prone to backfiring in case Bravo leaks a few. On a Chepauk track, Dhoni is expected to employ his spinners more, especially Jadeja who has had a few indifferent performances with the ball in the last few matches.

Players to watch out for:

Hussey – He has been laying strong foundations for the team at the top of the order. This has made a strong CSK middle-order even deadlier.

Dhoni – The game’s best finisher right now and probably one of the best two ever. The way he took apart the world’s best bowler in the last match is testimony to his ability to wrest back the advantage for his team from any point against any opposition.

Bravo – The importance that his bowling holds for the team is clear from Dhoni’s strategy to give him the responsibility to bowl in the death overs. The faith has reaped rewards with Bravo at second place in the wicket-takers’ list in IPL so far.

X-Factor:

Jadeja – His blitzkrieg against KKR in their previous clash is something that Jadeja will be looking to repeat.

Prediction:

CSK is one of the strongest teams on paper and will be up against a team which hasn’t played anywhere close to how a defending champion should have done. They are also playing at their fortress. Fair to say that the advantage rests with the men in yellow.