Sport - Cricket

Chance for Super Kings to move closer to semifinals

— Photo: K. Pichumani

RESPONSIBILITY CONTINUES… With skipper M.S. Dhoni unlikely to don the big gloves, Parthiv Patel could continue as Chennai Super Kings’ ‘keeper on Wednesday.

Chennai: Teams that have nothing to lose carry a hint of danger with them. This is precisely why Chennai Super Kings would be wary of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Super Kings’ coach Kepler Wessels admitted this much ahead of the Indian Premier League clash at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. “They have quite a few match-winners,” said Wessels.

The host, with seven wins in 11 games, could progress to the semifinals with a victory in its remaining three matches. Two wins would make qualification certain for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men.

With just four points and two wins in 11 matches, Royal Challengers has been through a horror run. Skipper Rahul Dravid has handled trying circumstances with great dignity but the team has not jelled as a Twenty20 unit. Predictably, it’s down on confidence.

The Super Kings has played with a lot more self-belief. The side has regrouped well after the departure of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram.

Skipper Dhoni has hustled opponents. A lot has been said about Virender Sehwag’s decision to bowl Shoaib Malik in the last over of that dramatic clash in New Delhi.

However, Dhoni’s decision to promote himself in the order could have forced Sehwag to hold back his spinners and bowl out his pacemen.

That was a game where Sehwag blinked and Dhoni didn’t. We once again enter the terrain of the mind.

Dhoni was humming at the nets on the eve of the match. Despite a bruised hand, his smile was in place. He will not keep wickets on Wednesday but will lead the side.

There were gains for the side from the game at the Eden Gardens. Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel strung together a match-winning opening stand in a truncated contest and a sound start makes a difference in any format. Among the others, S. Badrinath has grown in stature. The bowling is working better as a combination. Makhaya Ntini’s resurgence adds firepower and aggression to the attack. He is a strike bowler who can dent line-ups with the new ball.

“Makhaya is a strong man, he can run through a wall,” a beaming Ntini said after the practice session. A four-wicket haul and a hat-trick against the Kolkata Knight Riders have pleased him greatly.

The team has been focussing on specific areas; the yorker just outside the off-stump for instance. This is a difficult ball to strike in the end overs.

Paceman Manpreet Gony, pummelled by Jayasuriya in Mumbai, has otherwise bowled with head and heart. L. Balaji’s body has held firm so far.

Yet, with the pitches slowing down a touch in the last stretch of the league, Muttiah Muralitharan’s off-spin could assume a greater threat.

Royal Challengers has a few fitness concerns. Zaheer Khan is out of the game with an ankle strain and Mark Boucher is nursing a sore knee. However, Boucher’s replacement, Sreevats Goswami kept well and batted with flair against Delhi Daredevils.

The big-hitting Misbah-ul-Haq represents a clear and present danger to the host. And Anil Kumble would be returning to a surface he comprehends well.

There was a passing shower on Tuesday evening but the weather should be fine on Wednesday.

The teams:

Chennai Super Kings (from): M.S. Dhoni (captain), S. Fleming, P. Patel, S. Vidyut, S. Raina, S. Badrinath, A. Morkel, M.S. Gony, M. Ntini, L. Balaji, M. Muralitharan, J. Sharma, C. Kapugedera, S. Anirudha, P. Amarnath, K.B. Arun Karthik and A. Mukund.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (from): R. Dravid (captain), J. Kallis, V. Kohli, Misbah-ul-Haq, C. White, S. Goswami, B. Akhil, A. Kumble, P. Kumar, D. Steyn, V. Kumar, K.P. Appanna, B. Chipli, M. Boucher.

Umpires: I. Sivaram & B. Doctrove. Third umpire: D. Harper; Match Referee: J. Srinath.

Match starts at 8 p.m.

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