Bravo Job By .. Dhhhooonnnniiii !! Csk In .. Punjab Out !

There was for sure a tense moment at the Daramshala Cricket Stadium which witnessed one cliffhanger of a match between the Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. When a game goes as close as this, where the Chennai Super Kings required 14 runs of the final over and they were in a pity state where it’s a must win game for them to keep their semi-final chances alive and kicking, you can always expect the match to go in anybody’s way. After Captain Courageous, Mahendra Singh Dhoni Sky-rocketed an Irfan Pathan delivery out of the park, there was a good sense of relief both in the player’s dug-out and with the millions of fans supporting their home team, back in Chennai. And when he followed it up with another humungous one, which almost went over the mountains, it was all outbursts of emotions and pressure in the stadium, especially Dhoni who found it hard to hide his grit and sense of satisfaction. The players were seen in a pool of emotions and embraced each other with great excitement. As Badrinath said, it’s a team effort to the helm, right from Sudeep Tyagi’s outstanding catch to dismiss Mahela Jayawardena to the bamboozled innings from Suresh Raina and anchor innings from both Badrinath and Dhoni.

When a finisher to the likes of Dhoni, who has an outstanding temperament, stays there till the end playing a responsible innings, one can expect a complete reversal of the game. Though, his progress of scoring starts slowly, he manages to convert the singles into two’s and get the asking rate down. And once he starts to get the ball in the middle of his thick wood willow, he goes blazing guns and I should mention his flick shot which he plays with ease, where he picks the ball from outside off stump to quick-fire it over the mid-wicket boundary, with an amazing bat speed. The Super Kings especially after the dismissal of the man-in-form Raina were in a pressure situation and were forced to press the panic button. Dhoni, their savior, along with Badri displayed some outstanding batting skills with magnificent perfection and professionalism to get a win and to sail into the semifinals with 14 points. In any case, one shouldn’t forget the quick runs by southpaw Raina, who showcased class and an excellent batting effort. Though Badrinath’s scores in the previous games doesn’t look great, he played a match-winning innings alongside skipper Dhoni, which was a much needed knock and it came in the right time too.

The Chennai Super Kings have evolved well and are jelling as a team quite well. Ashwin has been absolutely phenomenal with his spin bowling up front supporting his lefty fast bowler Bollinger, who can hit the deck really hard. Morkel has been reasonably good and he should try more of bowling into the batsman rather than bowling away from him. Also useful contributions from Raina and Jakati in the middle overs are proving effective. Though we seem to have a good combination, we still have a great scope to hone some swinging action and we really have to restrict the opponents to a mere 120-140 odd total. However, with the depth we have in our batting, we really can chase down any total and we shouldn’t forget that our batting have helped us over the games so far. So, with some effort from our bowlers, we can get the act together and make it simple rather than making it a daunting task. Chennai Super Kings now march into the semi-finals with their Skipper leading his team from the front. Beware people; the lion’s den is getting really hot and spicy. So will the Chennai Super Kings go from strength to strength gaining momentum from this fantastic victory?? Anyways… to all you people out in Chennai, lets wear the yellow jerseys and support Dhoni’s Army and Come On People .. ”Idu Namma Chennai Chennai Super Kings !! “