IPL 8: Why Mumbai Indians won't have it easy against Chennai Super Kings
The City of Joy loves sport. On Sunday evening, the Eden Gardens will roar to life as the two hardest competing teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) — the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) — go full tilt to win the country’s premier franchise cricket tournament.
As the curtain comes down on the 8th edition of the IPL, there are many lasting memories. For all those who thought fans at home had an overdose of cricket after the ICC World Cup, six weeks of action in the IPL has been refreshing.
Each edition of the IPL brings with it something special and, for sheer pluck and tenacity, the Mumbai Indians’ comeback this summer has been fabulous. To be down and out for four matches at the start and then slowly crank up like the good old Ambassador car, Rohit Sharma’s side is being touted as champion stuff.
But then, if you are going to talk of statistics and ignore the Chennai Super Kings, it would be at your own peril. To be sure, this is not the script which one had thought of at the start of the event when the rain-marred opening ceremony was held in Kolkata.
The last six weeks have seen high-quality cricket, with batsmen, bowlers and captains giving it their sweat and toil. The format of the event is long and the travel makes it a grind for the teams to live out of suitcases.
Yet, if you look at the way Chennai skipper MS Dhoni has played this season and led the side, you have to fall in love with this guy again. On Friday, in his hometown Ranchi, the Indian limited overs captain showed he still has the wares to fight a resilient team like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Quite often, people talk about the T20 format being one for fitter youngsters but, as has become the norm in any professional sport, age is just a number. As long as you can find the motivation and back yourself, being 33 (Dhoni) or 39 (Mike Hussey) does not matter.
And when you also have a 36-year-old pacer answering to the name of Ashish Nehra, the package called Chennai Super Kings is dynamite.
In the three meetings between the CSK and Mumbai Indians this season, the latter has won twice. But that does not give it the edge as Dhoni’s experience and shrewdness marks him as very special. To suggest that this will be a final where Rohit Sharma will challenge Dhoni in terms of man management and strategy would be wrong.
Rohit’s experience as a skipper is nothing much compared to Dhoni and the Mumbai Indians actually owes a lot to their think-tank boss Ricky Ponting. The former Australian captain deserves credit for the turnaround in the Mumbai team’s fortunes, though at the start of the IPL, he did look shaky trying to mould this side.
One of the big worries for Chennai this season has been Suresh Raina’s lack of form. But then, as a team, Chennai have rallied very well and Dhoni has used the men at his disposal judiciously. The skipper is not known to give too many chances to new faces and believes in using the tested lot to win matches, be it in the IPL or while leading India.
He knows whom to back and, this season, he has used uncapped player Pawan Negi well. Negi plays first-class cricket for Delhi but has not been given a good run in the four-day Ranji games. At best, he has been used in the limited overs format by Delhi.
Dhoni saw talent in this man, as a result of which, Negi’s left-arm spin and ability to bat has, to an extent, helped Chennai as he has taken six wickets in nine matches and scored 113 runs.
R Ashwin has been in good form for Chennai and it will be fascinating to see how the battle pans out between him and rival offie Harbhajan Singh. There has been criticism for Bhajji as, on the basis of his good showing in the IPL, he has been called up for the lone Test in Bangladesh.
Times have changed and Ashwin is the first choice for India while Bhajji has been rewarded for his consistency and ability to trouble batsmen in the hardest format of cricket.
As someone who still has quite a few years of cricket left in him, this final will be a great chance for Rohit. He knows it will be an electric atmosphere in Kolkata and he needs to lead by example if he is going to match wits with Dhoni. Mumbai has been well served by Kieron Pollard and fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan. The key for the 2013 champions, Mumbai Indians, will be to handle the occasion on Sunday night.