Chennai look to turn the tide
Bangalore and Chennai have had contrasting fortunes in the lead-up to Tuesday’s clash between the southern giants.
By Rajarshi Gupta
While Anil Kumble’s men have been on a roll after their defeat to Kolkata at the Eden Gardens, Chennai had their progress rudely jolted by a resurgent Mohali.
The Super Over loss to the third edition’s bottom rankers will hurt Chennai, who are already without skipper MS Dhoni.
Parthiv Patel seemed to have things in control with a composed fifty before he threw it away in a sudden rush of blood, provoking a dramatic collapse. Mohali came back strongly thanks to IPL debutant Juan Theron and tied the game. The rest is history.
Matthew Hayden’s return to form with the blistering 93 against Delhi will no doubt pep up the Chennai team. With S Badrinath, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel to follow, the order looks firm.
Their bowling might well be the telling factor. L Balaji, Morkel and Muttiah Muralitharan have been in reasonably good form over the four games they have played so far. If they are to make a major impact against Bangalore, the bowlers will have to come to the party.
Last year’s finalists faced a shock defeat against Kolkata but since then Jacques Kallis has been unstoppable.
His unbeaten fifty in a losing cause against Kokata was followed up three successive Man of the Match efforts. The South African all-rounder is yet to be dismissed in the tournament so far and with 264 runs is in firm possession of the Orange Cap.
Young Manish Pandey has been stable at the top of the order and Robin Uthappa and Virat Kohli have already struck good form. Bangalore’s batting has been so commanding that the likes of Rahul Dravid and Eoin Morgan are yet to get decent hits in the middle.
Kumble leads an efficient bowling attack too. The former India leg-spinner has been in top form and his seamers Dale Steyn and Praveen Kumar have been delivering the goods.
Praveen notched up a hat-trick against Jaipur and will be itching to have a go against two left-handers at the top of the Chennai order- Hayden and Patel.
The bowlers stuck to their plans against a formidable Mumbai batting unit and will be a force to reckon with on the batting beauty that awaits both teams in Bangalore.
Despite the disappointments of their last encounter, Chennai are sure to come back strong. Suresh Raina has turned out to be an able skipper and with the calm Stephen Fleming as coach, the men in yellow will know how to work their way around Bangalore’s challenge.
Head to Head
Played: 5
Won by Chennai: 2 (winning % 40.00)
Won by Bangalore: 3 (winning % 60.00)
Approaching milestones:
- Suresh Raina (943) requires 57 runs to become the second batsman after Adam Gilchrist (1080) to complete 1,000 runs in the IPL.
- Rahul Dravid (663) needs 37 runs to become the second player after Jacques Kallis (824) to complete 700 runs or more in the IPL.
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