In-form Chennai look to return to the top

Kolkata Knight Riders face tough task of restricting Super Kings’ explosive batters

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face perhaps their toughest challenge yet when they meet in-form Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here today.

The Super Kings have been in blazing form of late, winning five of their six games in the tournament. Their only loss came against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals at Ahmedabad, where they were convincingly beaten by eight wickets.

However, CSK stamped their authority after they outclassed Kings XI Punjab in the last match here on Saturday. A dominant batting display saw the home side post a formidable 192 for three while Kings XI only managed to reach 95 for nine in their 20 overs.

Their explosive opening pair of New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith have been doing the damage and the Knight Riders have to find a way to strike early otherwise the game can get away from them in the blink of an eye.

Impressive batting line-up

Suresh Raina, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis have been quite impressive in the middle order. Their bowling attack too has looked sturdy, especially Ashish Nehra, the veteran left-arm seamer leading from the front.

Countering the CSK force, the Knight Riders will have their own weapons ready. Even though their last game was washed out against Rajasthan Royals without a ball being bowled, they would have high hopes of pulling a rabbit out of the hat this time.

The Men in Purple will rely on their batting firepower to deliver the goods, especially with such wonderful domestic talent at their disposal. Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan will all be set to launch themselves on the batting paradise here.