Defending champion Chennai Super Kings eyes another shot at glory as it gets back its full quota of home matches.
Chennai:
Captain Dhoni’s return to the franchise was greeted with much gusto and the ace gloveman repaid the love given to him by leading it to another title in the 2018 edition. CSK has made the final on seven occasions and reached the playoffs nine times, and much of the credit for this achievement goes to the talismanic Dhoni, who is known for making instinctive changes during the match.
Some of the best news for CSK has been Dhoni’s brilliant recent form in international cricket. The former India captain had managed only 275 runs from 20 ODIs in 2018. But all that changed in 2019 with Dhoni proving his value to the team and silencing his critics with some brilliant performances with the bat.
Every time there are questions over his performance and his continuance in the team in his advancing years, Dhoni surprises critics with his performances. Last season, Dhoni produced some superlative performances ending the tournament with a sensational average of 75.83. The CSK captain scored a total of 455 runs in 18 matches at a strike rate of 150.66, including three half-centuries. Another player to have made an impact last season was Ambati Rayudu. The 33-year-old Rayudu was crucial to CSK winning the title, ending IPL 2018 as the fourth-highest run-getter. After spending eight seasons at Mumbai Indians, Rayudu was bought by CSK for Rs 2.20 crore. Rayudu, who never touched the 400-run mark in his last 10 seasons, scored 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43.
The team also has some world-class overseas players in Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis and Imran Tahir. Bravo has been a consistent performer for CSK over the years and has made key contributions for the team before and after the ban. However, the West Indian turned 35 last year and does not have regular playing time under his belt.
The burly Aussie Watson, a powerful striker of the ball, is capable of swinging matches with both bat and ball in his team’s favour as he showcased in last season’s summit clash when he struck a majestic unbeaten 117. If there is one concern, it is that CSK’s pace attack is not one of the best in the business with Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar being the only three Indian seamers.
In the overseas lot, David Willey is the only pacer, which means Chennai will heavily rely once again on Bravo’s medium-pace to get crucial breakthroughs.
Ngidi ruled out of IPL 2019
CSK suffered a setback ahead of the season opener as South African paceman Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the tournament due to a side strain. The South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee was quoted as saying on the International Cricket Council website that Ngidi had felt discomfort while bowling in the last ODI against Sri Lanka at Newlands and immediately stopped bowling.
MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings squad looks to have all its bases covered as it has retained the core of the team that made a triumphant comeback after returning from a two-year ban last year.
Captain Dhoni’s return to the franchise was greeted with much gusto and the ace gloveman repaid the love given to him by leading it to another title in the 2018 edition. CSK has made the final on seven occasions and reached the playoffs nine times, and much of the credit for this achievement goes to the talismanic Dhoni, who is known for making instinctive changes during the match.
Some of the best news for CSK has been Dhoni’s brilliant recent form in international cricket. The former India captain had managed only 275 runs from 20 ODIs in 2018. But all that changed in 2019 with Dhoni proving his value to the team and silencing his critics with some brilliant performances with the bat.
Every time there are questions over his performance and his continuance in the team in his advancing years, Dhoni surprises critics with his performances. Last season, Dhoni produced some superlative performances ending the tournament with a sensational average of 75.83. The CSK captain scored a total of 455 runs in 18 matches at a strike rate of 150.66, including three half-centuries. Another player to have made an impact last season was Ambati Rayudu. The 33-year-old Rayudu was crucial to CSK winning the title, ending IPL 2018 as the fourth-highest run-getter. After spending eight seasons at Mumbai Indians, Rayudu was bought by CSK for Rs 2.20 crore. Rayudu, who never touched the 400-run mark in his last 10 seasons, scored 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43.
The team also has some world-class overseas players in Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis and Imran Tahir. Bravo has been a consistent performer for CSK over the years and has made key contributions for the team before and after the ban. However, the West Indian turned 35 last year and does not have regular playing time under his belt.
The burly Aussie Watson, a powerful striker of the ball, is capable of swinging matches with both bat and ball in his team’s favour as he showcased in last season’s summit clash when he struck a majestic unbeaten 117. If there is one concern, it is that CSK’s pace attack is not one of the best in the business with Mohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar being the only three Indian seamers.
In the overseas lot, David Willey is the only pacer, which means Chennai will heavily rely once again on Bravo’s medium-pace to get crucial breakthroughs.
Ngidi ruled out of IPL 2019
CSK suffered a setback ahead of the season opener as South African paceman Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the tournament due to a side strain. The South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee was quoted as saying on the International Cricket Council website that Ngidi had felt discomfort while bowling in the last ODI against Sri Lanka at Newlands and immediately stopped bowling.