It was actually a disappointing end for Chennai Super Kings last year having made into the final of IPL – 5. They were simply out of the tournament last year, but somehow they managed to enter final of the IPL. Having shown the master class in the Play-off stage, they failed to replicate the same in the final as Bisla took the game away from Chennai Super Kings.
However, this season is expected to be a good season for the Chennai Super Kings. Good news for them is that Hussey is available for the entire IPL, and his partner Vijay is in fine knick as he had an outstanding series against Australia. Also, Mahendra Singh Dhoni as skipper has done a fine job in the series against Australia and should replicate the same in IPL as well. The local-boy Ashwin will hold the key for the Chennai Super Kings as he may be used under pressure situations. He’s been the strike bowler for CSK as whenever MSD needed a wicket, Ashwin provides for him. He will be the go-to man crisis for CSK.
I was not very happy with the performance of CSK last year as they didn’t deserve to be champions. The kind of spirit and commitment which they had shown in the Play-off stage was missing in group matches. I have observed several mistakes committed by Dhoni in group stage, and that was the reason behind Super King’s debacle show. Shortly, he hadn’t used his resources efficiently as their star bowler Bollinger did not complete the full quota in the matches he played. He also shuffled his batting order constantly to find the right combination till Hussey’s arrival, was a major drawback in the Super Kings camp. They also lacked a player who could finish off the game as they lost five matches by a close margin which they should have won. Also, Dhoni was not upto the mark as skipper. I didn’t like his attitude of taking the game till the last over of the innings that could be really dangerous as anything can happen. I sense he feared batting collapse. I saw every match CSK batted first lost only 4-5 wickets, but posted just around 150 runs.
I don’t see any other draw back in this team especially under Dhoni. CSK badly need him to fire at the top of the order and should also play a good role as skipper. Remember he has already won two IPL trophies on the trot and a Champions League as well. He knows how to win matches from tougher situations. The one advantage is that, Dhoni has come into this IPL with a comprehensive series win over Australia as that would have been a great boost to him.
He shouldn’t shuffle his team, or batting order constantly as it would not help him in finding a better combination that would fetch him the result. First, he should play with the best team studded with important star players and win minimum number of matches to qualify for play-offs. From there on, he can experiment the cricketers who did not get a chance to play. This would definitely help CSK to finish in top two and perhaps qualify to final directly provided that if Dhoni uses his resources efficiently. Also, big bonus is that Nannes inclusion in CSK. He is the trump card for CSK in bowling department
I therefore expect the Chennai Super Kings undoubtedly to be in the final of this season. Definitely they would put right their errors and come out trumps!
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