Abu Dhabi: Losing the opener to Kings XI Punjab even after scoring 205 runs must have been a hard pill to swallow for Chennai Super Kings, who are expected to come down hard on Delhi Daredevils in their Indian Premier League tie at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium on Monday.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni need not worry about the batting as they have a line-up that can leave most teams in awe. Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith gave enough assurance that they are in good nick by putting up a partnership of 123 runs.
Suresh Raina has come into the IPL with World T20 form behind him and he will be keen to get some runs behind him while Dhoni himself can take the match away from any opposition with his explosive batting.
But the bowling is keeping them worried. The line-up led by Ashish Nehra struggled on a wicket that played flat during that afternoon match while Mohit Sharma, Smith and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi all went for runs. Dhoni didn’t have the luxury of bowling Dwayne Bravo at the death as the latter had to leave the field with a shoulder injury. Hopefully, the West Indian will recover in time for this tie.
Delhi on the other hand, come into this game after a tense four-wicket victory over Kolkata Kight Riders on Saturday.
Things have stirred up in the Delhi camp after managing director of England cricket Paul Downton added fuel by saying he has ‘never seen anyone so disengaged from what was going on’ as Kevin Pietersen during the Sydney Test against Australia, which ended up being the latter’s final international match.
These comments would have definitely ignited the missing spark, if any, within the Delhi skipper, who has yet to play a match and is confined to the bench with a finger injury. The British media and fans are waiting eagerly to see him walk into bat. However, it is still unclear if he is fit enough to be available.
Notwithstanding Downton’s observation, Pietersen still continues to one of the most feared batsmen in this format of the game.
“Obviously, Kevin is a fantastic player and if he doesn’t play then it changes out the focus and we don’t have to combat on the world greatest T20 player,” said CSK coach Stephen Fleming. “I expect him to play and if he doesn’t play then we will see on the day. I see his hand his heavily bandaged but to not have a player like Kevin they will losing an x-factor for sure.”
Dinesh Karthik, the stand-in skipper, led Delhi brilliantly against KKR and also played a captain’s knock of 56 off 40 deliveries after his side lost Murali Vijay in the first over.
Ross Taylor didn’t do much with the bat but J P Duminy not only gave Karthik good company in building a partnership but also helped see his side home. The Daredevils will be hoping for a similar show from him.
