Kolkata Knight Riders runs into in-form Chennai Super Kings

It had the allrounder Dwayne Bravo a lot to thank for averting a crisis with a near-improbable innings of 68 off just 30 balls. When everything seemed lost and the writing on the wall was clearly legible for all and sundry, the Chennai Super Kings’ duo of Dwayne Bravo and Kedar Jadhav, took matters into their own hands waylaying defending champion Mumbai Indians in its own territory to script one of the most remarkable come-from-behind victories in the Indian Premier League history.

If there was one downside of that win, it was that Jadhav has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament through a hamstring injury. The unavailability of the 33-year-old is something CSK could have done without so early into its campaign. 

Coming back to some good news, CSK will, no doubt, be emboldened by its act of turning the tables on Mumbai and will take to the field against Kolkata Knight Riders with a sack full of beans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. While the Super Kings may not be staring at a laundry list of problems there are some that need to be ironed out expeditiously. 

For starters, the caving in of its top and middle order — consisting of some of the game’s more experienced batsmen— to a rookie bowler in Mayank Markande might not have set off the alarm bells, but with growing accent on wrist spinners and there being quite a few in this year’s IPL, the men in yellow would want it to be regarded as a one-off before setting off for sterner tests.

CSK’s pace bowling cupboard looks a little bare and it stood exposed when its English import Mark Wood gave away 49 runs from his quota of four overs. Deepak Chahar, chosen ahead of Shardul Thakur, meanwhile, worked up good pace and swung the new ball, and wasn’t overawed by the stage or the occasion. 

It will be interesting to see whether the opening combination of Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu will be persisted with or whether the local boy Murali Vijay will be reinstated as the opener. Close tabs will also be kept on whether leg-spinner Karn Sharma’s services, acquired at an expensive Rs 5 crore, will be called upon. 

The Knight Riders, on the other hand, will enter the match with its confidence levels going through the roof after a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, and in skipper Dinesh Karthik, it can count on someone who knows the ins and outs of the prevailing conditions at Chepauk. The battle between two former champion outfits, who have both won the IPL twice, has the makings of a pulsating contest. 

It’s worth recollecting how CSK’s choice of players at this year’s auction was greeted with widespread derision, disbelief and tart remarks about picking an ageing squad. While it would be too early to talk about the win against Mumbai proving its detractors wrong, it has gone some way towards muzzling the grating voices that had grown strident in the run-up to its first match. The win will have, to a great extent, rebuffed at least some of those calumnies. CSK, a team rich in experience and wisdom, would be eager to prove to its naysayers that the age of miracles is not a thing of the past.