On song after making a superb comeback to the league, table toppers Chennai Super Kings would look to continue its winning run against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Written off at the start with critics branding it’s dugout as an ‘old-age home’, CSK, on the field, never looked like a side which is making its comeback to the tournament after serving a two-year suspension.
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni in centre of the team’s batting might, CSK have started looking ominous and would look to cement their spot at the top. CSK are currently leading the eight-team table with 12 points from six wins out of eight games. Half-centuries from Shane Watson and Dhoni blasted CSK to its third 200-plus score and then young fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and KM Asif choked Delhi Daredevil’s chase to hand CSK its sixth win of the season.
Dhoni himself is in the middle of the CSK’s success with his batting and captaincy instincts. Dhoni made four changes against Delhi and it showed the team’s depth.
Ngidi looked reliable and penetrative both in power play and at the death as the South African brought some venom into the pace department in absence of injured Deepak Chahar.
KM Asif impressed with his raw pace and quick arm action and took two wickets on debut, though the young Kerala pacer leaked 43 runs in three overs.
In batting, Watson has been a revelation. The veteran Australian all-rounder slammed this season’s highest score – 106 – his fourth T20 hundred. Ambati Rayudu too has gone about his tasks quietly, be it as an opener or in the middle-order to lead the batting chart with 370 runs.
Dhoni averages 71.50 with three half-centuries. His knock of 70 not out from 34 balls to hunt down RCB’s 205 still remains the talk of the town.
With a handsome 12-7 win-loss record, the Dhoni-led side will also give some more headache to KKR. In the mid-table with six matches to go, KKR cannot afford to lose at Eden Gardens, where they play three more, in its bid for to secure a maiden playoff berth under Dinesh Karthik. In their previous match, KKR successfully chased a modest 176 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
KKR’s campaign, so far, has been hugely dependent on the overseas trio of Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Lynn was the architect of KKR’s six-wicket win in Bangalore with a restrained knock of unbeaten 62.
KKR would hope for a strong batting show, especially from Robin Uthappa who is in the middle of a lean patch and is yet to score a half-century. KKR also need to send Shubman Gill up the order. Batting at no. 7, the Under-19 World Cup star has scores of 3, 6, 14 not out, 37, 5 not out in what seems to be sheer waste of talent. Having failed to defend a handsome 203 in the first leg, KKR bowlers will look for a better show this time.
Team Head to Head
Overall: Matches – 17, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 6, Chennai Super Kings won – 11
At Eden Gardens: Matches – 7, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 3, Chennai Super Kings won – 4
The trend has been for the home teams to prevail. In the last five meetings between these teams, CSK won in Chennai and Ranchi, while KKR have won in the matches played in Kolkata.
Trivia
Chennai Super Kings’ have lost 18 wickets alike to pace and spin in IPL 2018; however, while they have scored at the rate of 10.25 against the quicks, their scoring rate is nearly two runs less – 8.26 – against the spinners.
Off the 18 wickets CSK have lost to spinners, 12 have been to wrist spinners: 11 to leg-spinners and 1 to a chinaman bowler.
Chennai Super Kings are the only team to have not bowled a No Ball so far in IPL 2018.
In their last four matches, KKR’s opponents have posted opening partnerships of 54, 116, 59 & 67.
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (C), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, R Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, David Willey.
(with PTI and iplt20.com iputs)
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