Chennai, Pune seek comeback win (Preview)

Poster boys of Indian cricket, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, have combined together to script some famous wins for the country and world cup triumph being the latest. Yuvraj turned out to be Indian skipper Dhoni’s go to man during the title winning campaign as all-rounder contribution with both bat and ball was one of the prime reasons for team India’s success in the mega event.

There will be no such luxury of Dhoni as two stars will be pitted against each other on Monday and keen to outdo each other. Captaining their respective IPL franchises, both have a job on hands to lift their sides after losing two games each in a row.

Defending champions Chennai, contrary to three previous seasons, have been inconsistent losing three out of their five games this season. Their latest loss against Mumbai was largely due to the batting failure as strong batting lineup surrendered to Mumbai while chasing a gettable target on batting friendly pitch at Wankhede.

This would have concerned Dhoni and company as team management want runs from their middle order which has misfired so far. Dhoni himself, Suresh Raina and big hitting all-rounder A Morkel are yet to be amongst big runs resulting in Chennai’s inconsistent performance.

Yuvraj led Pune started their maiden IPL campaign on a high scoring two impressive wins but performance has nosedived with two losses on a trot. While it was bowlers who were unable to d fend a big total against Delhi, batsmen displayed no show kind of a performance against Mumbai to lose meekly.

Barring Robin Uthappa, most of the batsmen have lacked inconsistency while bowling has been poor more so in death overs. Bowling resources are thin on experience and what would serve Pune’s cause if likes of Yuvraj, Jesse Ryder and Uthappa play long innings with the bat.

In a big picture, Sunday will witness some mini-battles none bigger than between and Dhoni with both keen to get their sides back to winning ways.

CHENNAI

Players who can make impact…

MS Dhoni…As they say cometh the hour, cometh the man and it befits to the Dhoni’s demeanor. And, Chennai captain performs when needed the most. With Chennai on ropes after two losses on the trot, Dhoni would be eager to display some fireworks with bat and there is no doubt his leadership has an altogether different impact on his side.

R Ashwin…Young wily off-spinner Ashwin’s tight bowling and his ability to give vital breakthroughs for the team. With Chepauk pitch suitable for spin bowlers, Ashwin could turn out to be more than handy and make an impact with his off-spinners.

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

PUNE

Players who can make impact…

Yuvraj Singh…In-form Indian all-rounder knows virtues of leading from the front. Yuvraj will be itching for a big against Dhoni’s Chennai. Not only his hard hitting batting is vital to inexperienced Pune side, Yuvraj, off late, has made rapid strides with his left arm spin bowling as well. He gives that x-factor to the team as well.

Alfonso Thomas…An experienced pro in t-20 cricket, Alfonso has had some good bowling spells thus far in the tournament. He has provided early breakthroughs with the new ball and looked menacing as well. He doesn’t mind giving batsmen a chirp as well.

Squad

Yuvraj Singh (c) A Jhunjhunwala, Alfonso Thomas, Angelo Mathews, Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Callum Ferguson, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Graeme Smith, Harpreet Singh, Harshad Khadiwale, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Jerome Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Kamran Khan, Manish Pandey, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Monish Mishra, Murali Kartik, Nathan McCullum, Rahul Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Mundhe, Shrikant Wagh, Tim Paine (wk), Wayne Parnell