Deccan Chargers have sweet memories of Chennai. They had beaten the defending champions here twice. But Chennai Super Kings are on a roll and given their current form, it can be expected that the Chargers won't be lucky a third time at Chepauk.
Times have changed though and at the moment it looks pretty difficult for Kumar Sangakkara's boys, who have lost four out of seven matches in the IPL 4 so far, to maintain their old form and get the better of CSK when they take on each other at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday evening.
CSK, after losing three matches in the initial stages, had created some problems but their two back-to-back wins against Pune Warriors helped them shake it off and get back into the rhythm once again.
CSK are one of the most balanced sides in the tournament and their local pool is among the best. The likes of MS Dhoni, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Suresh Raina and R Ashwin form a formidable combination and each of them has the ability to win matches single-handedly.
Former Tamil Nadu captain Badrinath, a brilliant middle-order batman for CSK, has been scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit for several years and now has carried his good form into the IPL.
Badri's magnificent effort (71 off 48), though in a losing cause against table-toppers Mumbai Indians, was praiseworthy. Vijay and his opening partner Michael Hussey have been doing a great job.
Hussey, who had joined the team after coming back from a short Bangladesh ODI tour, has been scoring runs on a regular basis and CSK have benefited a lot from the Aussie's presence at the top.
Though the Chargers have won their previous match against Kochi Tuskers in a big way, the champion team in the 2009 edition, has been struggling with form and lost four out of seven matches they have played so far.
Key Clashes
Dale Steyn Vs Ms Dhoni
The common word between these two big stars is attack. The South African speedster can test any batsman in the world with sheer speed and bounce and also has the ability to win matches single-handedly. The CSK skipper is a real fighter and a proven match-winner and has the ability to tear apart any attack. He is yet to score big runs in the competition but it just a matter of time before the hard-hitting right-hander gets back into form.
Ishant Sharma vs Mike Hussey
The Delhi pacer has shown his ability to win a match on his own recently and he can be lethal on any given day. On the other hand, the experienced Aussie is in great form and is proving his worth in every outing. It'll be interesting to see how these two take on each on a MAC pitch which has behaved differently in almost every match.
Kumar Sangakkara vs R Ashwin
The Lankan captain is not in great form. He is a part of a struggling team and that may be reason behind his poor run in the competition. But the Chennai boy is a genuine talent and he is improving with every outing. He is an intelligent bowler and has the ability to deceive any big batsman with his carrom ball or a straighter.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shadab Jakati, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, G Bailey, Tim Southee, F du Plessis, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Joginder Sharma, Yo Mahesh, A Mukund, Wriddhiman Saha, Scott Styris, Sudeep Tyagi, K Vasudevadas, G Vignesh.
Deccan Chargers: Kumar Sangakkara (c), Ashish Reddy, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Akash Bhandari, Bharat Chipli, Daniel Christian, Kedar Devdhar, Shikhar Dhawan, Jean Paul Duminy, Manpreet Gony, Harmeet Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Michael Lumb, Chris Lynn, Ishan Malhotra, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ravi Teja, Jaydev Shah, Ishant Sharma, Sunny Sohal, Dale Steyn, Rusty Theron, Cameron White, Arjun Yadav. |
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Will Deccan Chargers be third-time lucky?