Now that the first semi final is out of
the way, we can lick our collective
chops at the prospect of a contest that
will certainly better the first semi
final. Chennai Super Kings with its
phlegmatic and highly successful captain
Dhoni and its underestimated firepower
will lock horns with Yuvraj’s Punjab
Kings, a balanced side that looks well
settled and closely knit as a team. A
delightful contest indeed!
Man
to man the Punjab side looks much
stronger than the Chennai outfit. Tom
Moody must be complimented. The players
know their roles, know each others’
strengths, have settled down into their
natural game and are on a winning
streak. Shaun Marsh has redefined how
batsmen can be successful in T20 while
playing conventional cricketing shots.
He will certainly make his presence felt
in this match and may well be on the way
to score a big knock today, again.
Mahela, Sangakarra and Pomersbach will
provide stability to the batting in the
event of an early wicket and Yuvraj will
provide the required momentum. There
will not be a case of a batting collapse
like Delhi’s with this lineup today and
a score of 170 plus should certainly be
on the cards if they bat first. This is
also a side that’s capable of chasing
down scores of 180-190. Moody’s and
Yuvraj’s planning will also be better
than the Delhi outfits which seems to
plan everything on the field. Sreesanth,
Irfan and Piyush Chawla have done
extremely well in the bowling department
for Punjab and have provided crucial
breakthroughs and tight overs. All in
all Punjab is a very solid package and
Chennai will be aware of that.
Chennai
Super Kings has had its share of ups and downs
but the team has stuck it out to make the last
four. Surprisingly the Chennai team’s foreign
players and big names have not yet made a big
mark after the exit of Hayden and Hussey with
the exception of Albie Morkel to some extent. If
Murlitharan has to find form, this is the time.
Same goes for Makhaya Ntini and Fleming. Even
Dhoni has not found an inning that has made a
significant impact in any match – he is the one
who can take a 180 and convert it to 220. It’s
time he figured a way to make bowlers bowl to
his strengths, to upset bowler’s rhythm in other
ways. Chennai will pose a threat to Punjab only
when at least three of their five big players
contribute significantly enough to make a
difference.
Thankfully the Chennai Super Kings fringe
players have picked their game and are lending
support to the bigger names admirably. Raina,
Badrinath and Parthiv are all hardworking
cricketers who know their roles and they have
done well too. Chennai would be happy with 180
to defend and they could get that score if they
plan well. Chennai’s bowling is steady without
being penetrative. If only Murali can find his
form, his overs could upset the Punjab batsmen’s
plans. If Chennai can restrict Punjab to
anything below 160 they would have done a
fantastic job.
If the match does come to the wire as I expect
it to, I’d stick my neck out to favour Chennai
as my favourites. I give Chennai the edge in
such a situation for the simple reason that it
will then come down to how well the captain can
hold his team together as well as his nerve.
Dhoni has had his share of success with his
formula of trusting his players completely and
trusting them to the very end. In a pressure
situation, his style of leadership could be
decisive because it does leave his players the
space to perform without any further pressure.
In tight moments his players could just find
that little extra in themselves (fuelled by his
faith in their abilities) and turn it their way,
just as they did in some of the earlier matches.
Manpreet Gony should testify to that!
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