Bangalore look to avoid hat trick of defeats (Preview)

Two of the favourites-Chennai, Bangalore- go into Saturday’s encounter after losing their respective matches they were expected to win. It was Paul Valthaty’s superb hundred that made Chennai’s 188 score to look an average total against weaker opposition Punjab while Bangalore batting lineup combusted to the pace trio of Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Manpreet Gony after their bowlers had failed to keep them to gettable score.

Now, defeated teams will be up against each other to get back to winning ways. There is not much that separates two sides, Chennai with good winning record and having calm and lucky MS Dhoni as skipper will have a slight edge.

For Chennai, defeat against Punjab was a shock as bowlers wilted under Valthaty onslaught after posting a big total on the board. The inability of bowlers to defend a big total should worry Dhoni and this might prompt him to bring about some changes in the lineup. Inclusion of Australian left arm speedster Doug Bollinger is on cards and with Michael Hussey back in the squad after finishing his international duties it will give team management a sweet headache whether to play him or not. In all likelihood, he is going to play at the expense of Scott Styris.

Fielding effort against wouldn’t have impressed captain cool at all and it would have been one of the prime agendas during the team meetings. And, Dhoni knows better than anybody how to eke out best out of his boys when chips are down. Chennai, as they have shown in the past, play their best cricket when it is most needed.

Chennai bowling will have strong batting lineup of Bangalore to confront with at batting friendly Chinaswammy Stadium and will need to take wicket upfront to keep scoring rate and Bangalore batsmen under check. Batting, it appears, isn’t a problem for Chennai right now. After losing two off first two balls of the match, Chennai showed their batting depth to put a mammoth score on the board.

Likes of Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel lend their team explosiveness factor and Dhonis and Hussey provide that stabilizing factor to the proceedings.Bangalore, after starting this season’s campaign with a impressive win, have dwindled losing two matches on the trot and to be honest were outplayed in both encounters.

They have failed keep the high standards in lost games. Batsmen have surrendered meekly and have given their wickets away at the crucial moments.

The likes of AB de Villiers and Tilkeratne Dilshan couldn’t put a brave fight against Steyn and co at Hyderabad. Both succumbed to the furious pace and with them chances chasing the big target crashed. Only positive from Thursday’s game was Virat Kohli’s batting and his legend as a star batsman keeps on going to another level. He was hardly bothered by pace and bounce and scored at will which other failed to do.

For Bangalore to register a win against Chennai, they will have to bring their A game into fore. Batsmen need to play long innings rather look for big shots every ball. Dilshan, at the top order, needs to fire and it is high time for local recruits to start contributing to the team cause.

Zaheer Khan hasn’t looked the same bowlers he was in world cup and other fast bowlers have also failed to impress contributing to the loss. To avoid hat trick of losses, bowlers would be required to bowl tight and get wickets to put pressure on the opposition batsmen.

CHENNAI

Players who can make impact…

MS Dhoni…Dhoni is one of those skippers who want to lead from the front. He has a knack of performing in big matches and it won’t be a surprise if he does the same against Bangalore infront of home crowd. He will need to lift his side after the shock defeat against Punjab and he has the history of doing that successfully and professionally.

Michael Hussey…Mr. Cricket as he is popularly known for his dedication for the game and way he conducts himself on the field and off it. Joining the team after done with his international commitments, Hussey will be keen to contribute in a big way. He might be asked to open the innings.

Squad

Abhinav Mukund, Albie Morkel, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Ganapathi Vignesh, George Bailey, Joginder Sharma, K Vasudevadas, Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni (c)(wk), Murali Vijay, Nuwan Kulasekara, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Scott Styris, Shadab Jakati, Srikkanth Anirudha, Sudeep Tyagi, Suraj Randiv, Suresh Raina, Tim Southee, Wriddhiman Saha,Yo Mahesh.

BANGALORE

Players who can make impact…

Zaheer Khan…India’s best bowler in the world and highest wicket taker as well, Left arm pacer Zaheer Khan hasn’t had a good IPL so far. He has been scored off easily and hasn’t had much to show in the wickets column. He will be keen to get back to what he does best and give team breakthroughs upfront and in the middle. He will also have a crucial role to play in nurturing young bowlers.

AB de Villiers…After winning the first match for his side, AB hasn’t done much to help the side. With Saturday’s encounter crucial as it, AB will be charged up to put some runs on the board. His big hitting and hard running between the wickets is what is required for this format.

Squad

AB de Villiers (wk), Abhimanyu Mithun, Abrar Kazi, Arun Karthik, Asad Pathan, BN Barath, Charl Langeveldt, Cheteshwar Pujara, Daniel Vettori (c), Dirk Nannes, Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar, Luke Pomersbach, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Kaif, Muralidharen Gautam, Nuwan Pradeep, Raju Bhatkal, Rilee Rossouw, Ryan Ninan, Saurabh Tiwary, Sreenath Aravind, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan