With the competition for the semifinal berths intensifying, Chennai Super Kings are in no mood to take a chance and they would go all out for a massive win
CHENNAI: With the competition for the semifinal berths intensifying, Chennai Super Kings are in no mood to take a chance and they would go all out for a massive win against the lowly Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side is placed third after garnering 14 points from 11 matches but they are guarding themselves against complacency and VB Chandrasekhar, their Cricket Administrator, ruled out lowering the guard even if the opponents are as weak as the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
"We are not under any pressure but confident of the team making the semifinals. We have three more matches to go and our aim is to win all three matches," he said.
The former national selector pointed out that teams from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata were still not out of the reckoning and in such a situation, the Super Kings should not take any chance.
As for Tuesday's match, the Super Kings are eyeing a victory with big margin to improve their net run rate as well.
The Chennai side can take heart from the fact that their Kiwi import Stephen Fleming has got into the groove, while Parthiv Patel too was in song against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"They gave us a good start against Kolkata and such starts will surely help us win all three coming matches," Chandrasekhar said.
The Chennai team plays Rajasthan Royals at home on May 24 and Deccan Chargers away on May 27.
The team seems to have overcome the absence of some of the top international players who have returned home on national duty.
"After the departure of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram, we were forced to rework our combination. It took some time before things fell in pieces. Now that we have found strong combinations, particularly in the middle order, we have no worries," Chandrasekar said.
The middle order sports a formidable look with Suresh Raina, S Vidyut, Albie Morkel and Dhoni himself lending depth to the line-up.
Makhaya Ntini's return to form also augurs well for the hosts, who now have enough firepower in their attack.
In contrast, Rahul Dravid's Royal Challengers look a slipshod combination which has struggled throughout the tournament. Sacking of CEO Charu Sharma and harsh words from owner Vijay Mallya have only compounded the crisis and with their semifinal hopes lying in tatters, Dravid's men would have little motivation.
Teams (From): Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), VV Kadbe, P Amarnath, S Anirudha, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, L Balaji, Stephen Fleming, Manpreet Gony, Matthew Hayden, Shadab Jakati, Joginder Sharma, Chamara Kapugedera, Arun Karthik, Suresh Kumar, Albie Morkel, Abhinav Mukund, Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S Vidyut.
Bangalore Royal Challengers: Rahul Dravid (C), N Aiyappa, B Akhil, KP Appanna, J Arunkumar, Mark Boucher, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Bharat Chipli, Shreevats Goswami, Wasim Jaffer, Sunil Joshi, Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Anil Kumble, Misbah-ul-Haq, Devraj Patil, Dale Steyn, Vinay Kumar.
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