Chennai eye all-round stability against unpredictable Punjab
CHENNAI: An inconsistent Chennai Super Kings will have to display all-round solidity when they face an unpredictable Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
The Super Kings have 10 points from nine matches, similar figures as that of Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, and the defending champions would certainly like to breakaway from that mid-table gridlock with a win.
However, the defending champions will be a worried lot as Punjab Kings, who have six points from nine games, are coming to this match after scaling down 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders, the highest chase in the history of T20 cricket. But the Chepauk deck is a different beast, offering a semblance of assistance to the bowlers and it was evident in CSK’s impressive 78-run win over SRH in their previous match.
There was no dew in Chennai on that night, and the CSK bowlers defanged SRH’s potent batting unit with their accuracy and variations after their batters put on board a 200-plus total. They need an encore against Punjab, and all eyes will be on skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is on a hot streak.
Gaikwad has registered scores of 108 and 98 in his last two innings and New Zealand man Daryl Mitchell too seemed to have regained his touch at just the right time with a 32-ball 52 against Hyderabad.
However, the real stormforce in the CSK line-up is Shivam Dube, who has pulverised the opposition bowlers while coming as an Impact Sub.
While Dube has always been a spin-basher, the lefthander has now added another angle to his batting with his effective tackling of pacers.
Dube so far has made 350 runs, second highest for CSK behind Gaikwad’s 447, and those runs came at a strikerate of 172.41, second only to MS Dhoni’s 259.45.
However, the CSK opening combination continues to be a bit iffy. Gaikwad has been a solid presence but both nowdropped Rachin Ravindra and
Ajinkya Rahane have not been able to play the support role to their skipper.
Rahane’s last four outings as opener produced scores of 5, 36, 1, 9, and those numbers don’t reflect his experience or skill-level. However, CSK in all likelihood will continue to back him. Batting coach Michael Hussey had remarked that the 35-year-old was close to getting a big knock under his belt.
On the other hand, PBKS will be desperate to carry the momentum after that record chase and climb up the ladder from the current eighth place.
For that, their batters need to fire in unison once again and the onus is on Jonny Bairstow, who made a hundred against KKR, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh.
But they will eye a more impact outing from wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma.
However, PBKS’ bowling department looks a bit shaky despite having experienced campaigners such as Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran in their ranks.
But since then, Archer has been forced to sit on the sidelines because of the recurrence of a stress fracture in his right elbow.
“Jofra Archer has recovered from his right elbow injury and is named in the squad,” said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in its media release.
England will be led by Jos Buttler, who had guided them to the title in Australia in 2022. From January this year, Archer has been working intensely on his return including Sussex’s pre-season camps in Abu Dhabi and Bengaluru, besides appearing in a handful of club matches at Barbados.
Archer pulled out of this year’s IPL from the Mumbai Indians’ squad after he suffered another injury setback in November 2023, but he surprised everyone by turning up
to play a match for his school team in Barbados, since they were on the verge of being relegated.
The ECB was not aware when Archer answered the SOS call and went on to play the game in December.
The 24-year-old Hartley is the sole uncapped player in the squad. The left-arm spinning all-rounder has appeared in 82 T20 games 68 wickets at average of little over 26. His economy rate is a decent 7.85.
Meanwhile, Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), Moeen Ali (CSK), Jonny Bairstow (PBKS), Sam Curran (PBKS), Liam Livingstone (RR), Phil Salt
(KKR), Will Jacks, Reece Topley (both RCB), will return home from the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the T20I series against Pakistan from May 22.
It means that these players will miss the final stages of the IPL 2024.
“The World Cup squad will fly to the Caribbean on May 31 ahead of England’s opening group match against Scotland at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on Wednesday, June 4,” added the ECB.