Mahendra Singh Dhoni returns to Punjab Cricket Stadium for the second time in less than a fortnight. The unprecedented hype that surrounded the India-Pakistan clash in the World Cup semifinal is understandably missing. And Dhoni is not complaining.
This time around, as the skipper of Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni will have a lot less on mind ahead of Wednesday’s clash against a struggling Kings XI Punjab.
The excitement of the Indian Premier League is still to pick up in this sleepy city. Even some of the securitymen at the stadium here were unaware of the visiting team playing here. Mention of Dhoni and Suresh Raina, however, lit up their faces but no warm reaction comes forth for their home team.
Going by the currently confidence levels of the Super Kings and the Kings XI, it is clear that the former is determined and the latter, desperate.
So far, Chennai has won all its away games against Punjab. In fact, last April, the team chased down 192 at Dharamshala in its final league match and then marched on to win the title. Punjab, a slow-starter that has lost its first two games in all previous editions, ended up last in 2010.
Besides history, what makes Chennai the favourite is the fact that it is a better balanced unit. The presence of familiar locals, in addition to Dhoni, Raina, gives it a look of a settled team. Indeed, the most consistent team in the competition in the past three years continues to gain from its tested formation in the fourth season, too.
In the opening clash, Chennai’s pluck and share of luck combined to snatch a two-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a good win against a team that has the potential to finish among the top-four.
On the other hand, Adam Gilchrist-led Punjab was soundly thrashed by Pune Warriors in its campaign opener. The margin of defeat could have reduced – from seven wickets – had the team accepted the offerings from Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa. Overall, nothing really worked for Punjab.
Gilchrist knows only too well that underdogs enjoy a fair chance of upstaging the favourites in the shortest version of the game. In fact, the wicketkeeper-captain himself can play a match-winning role, like he has done so many times in the past, in different forms of the game.
Given the resources at his disposal, Gilchrist understands how much the team depends on him to give the side a flying start. If Gilchrist and fellow-opener Shaun Marsh, one of the few players retained by the franchisee, get going, Chennai can face serious problems.
The middle-order, where Dinesh Karthik and Abhishek Nayar are the two proven names, stands to be bolstered if David Hussey gets to play after he reaches here late on Tuesday. All-rounder Ryan Mclaren can once again be expected to contribute.
The bowling department, with Praveen Kumar, Nathan Rimmington, McLaren, Piyush Chawla, apart from all-rounders like Ryan Harris and Vikramjit Malik, looks inadequate to test the strong Chennai line-up.
Therefore, Gilchrist will be hoping to bat first, put up a formidable total and then pray that the team fields much better than it did against Pune. For Dhoni, known to set exacting standards, only an improved performance can make him smile.
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