Chennai Super Kings players during their practice session (File | EPS)
PUNE: With 10 points from seven matches, Chennai Super Kings’ campaign has been on a cruise mode at the moment. Their defeat against Mumbai Indians on Saturday couldn’t have come at a better time, as it offers a reality check on how they are still some distance away from getting familiar to the conditions in Pune. In the first match they played here against Rajasthan Royals, it took a special innings from Shane Watson to give them a win. But such knocks don’t come every day, as they found out against Mumbai. After having gained good momentum, that defeat took a bit out of it.
They would hope that it is only a blip before their match against Delhi Daredevils on Monday. Chennai have three matches in six days, which also includes a visit to Kolkata and then back again in Pune for the arrival of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
play in place of injured Deepak Chahar
Chennai have all but one day between those two matches, which will see them travel from east to west, with virtually no time for practice, or for cooling off and taking care of the niggles. It might not be a big thing for most of the other teams, but with a squad which is stuffed with players aged more than 30, it is a whole different story. Head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that going forward, managing their workload, especially in this stretch, will be key for Chennai.
“We are in middle of a hectic patch. We have to be careful with who we play. Whether you are young or not, we travel, and a lot of energy will be spent. That has to be taken into account. “We don’t want to be too carried away with one loss. We have done well up to this point. The guys have contributed well. But it is a good time to have a look at what is best.
We have to work out what our best combination is, and how the pitch is going to play. We have to work extra hard to gain home advantage, and we need to get the correct combination.” With pacer Deepak Chahar being ruled out for two weeks with hamstring injury, Chennai will be forced to make a change against Delhi. But whether it forces them into making two is what remains to be seen. Chennai’s death bowling is a big worry, and barring Dwayne Bravo, the rest have been found wanting.
With Shane Watson’s bowling not looking convincing at the moment, the Men in Yellow could be tempted to bring in allrounder David Willey. Fleming admitted that Willey is one of the names that the management is looking to bring in, and if he comes in, leg-spinner Imran Tahir might sit out, with Karn Sharma taking his place. venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com
