Some fine batting, a pinch of luck and quality leadership drove the Chennai Super Kings into the semifinals of the Champions League T20. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side had to wait till the final day of the group encounters to assure themselves a place in the last-eight of the tournament.
Are the Super Kings the title contenders? Yes, sir! The former champions may have had a tumbling time booking a semifinals berth still they are more than capable of adding another feather to their hat, under the inspirational leadership of MS Dhoni.
The Super Kings lost their opening encounter against the Kolkata Knights Riders, when a counterattack from Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate turned KKR’s fortunes. CSK won their second game against the Dolphins, third against Lahore Lions was washed out and they ended their group campaign with a win over the Perth Scorchers.
Perth, who were defeated by the Super Kings in the last game, came to their rescue and defeated the Lions to allow CSK to march into the last-four. The Super Kings are a scary side on papers and with knock out stage experience they are a team to beat in the semis.
Batting
Strengths: Batting has been Chennai’s strength in the tournament so far and have rescued them on a number of occasions. They have Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina at the top, which have thrashed the opposition on various occasions.
McCullum and Raina have already played fine knocks in the tournament and are in sublime touch. The presence of skipper Dhoni is also a plus for the Chennai-based franchise he has showed no mercy on the bowlers and his longest 101m six record still standing tall in this year’s competition.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also found his touch in the last game against the Scorchers. He not only made a well complied fifty but also made sure that he played till the last and anchored the one end, when Dhoni was sending the balls ballistic.
Weakness: It is difficult to find weakness in CSK batting but there are still few voids that need to be filled. Smith still needs to fire and provide the Super Kings a scorching start and the semifinal against the King XI Punjab will be a perfect platform for him to that.
Bowling
Strengths: The form of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is a big advantage for the Super Kings, as he has not only managed to contain the batsmen but also picked wickets on crucial junctures. Pacer Ashish Nehra is also doing a similar job with the ball and has played an instrumental role in CSK’s two win in the tournament.
Weaknesses: The Super Kings have been patchy in bowling performances, although T20 is a cruel game for the bowlers but largely they have struggled as a bowling unit. Apart from Ashwin and Nehra, no other CSK bowler has managed to stamp a mark in the tournament.
Dwayne Bravo bowled well against the Dolphins but lost his line against the Scorchers. Mohit Sharma’s performance was also not up to the mark in the last few games.
