The M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will host the 16th match of this year’s IPL between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. The Chennai side had lost their first game to Deccan Chargers and then went on to lose their captain MS DHoni, but have won two games after that in succession. As compared to that, Punjab have played three, and lost three really close games in the tournament so far.

The issue one can see with the Kings XI Punjab is that neither their captain Kumar Sangakkara nor the best batsman in the side, Yuvraj Singh, is in the best of form. Both have been losing their wickets to rather wayward shots, and it is a surprise that they have been so listless. There could very well be the case of a little more than what meets the eye as the captaincy had earlier changed hands from Yuvraj Singh to Kumar Sangakkara. One is not sure whether Yuvraj Singh has taken the same too well.

Apart from that, Punjab’s bowling is a perennial issue. With Irfan Pathan, not half as a bowler as he was earlier, and S Sreesanth as wayward as one can be, it is a given that the Punjab side is missing Brett Lee. Lee had earlier flown back to Australia to get treatment done for his elbow, that he had injured.

This means that even without understanding how the Chennai side will be placed with their captain, they will go into the side as favourites. They finally saw their best batsman, Matthew Hayden lead the charge with a swashbuckling 93 under his belt, and innings that saw him use his Mongoose for the first time. The effect was that they almost easily beat Delhi as they chased down 186 in 19 overs.

And it is not only Hayden but also the likes of Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel who can wield the bat. In fact, in Dhoni’s absence, Parthiv Patel comes in to replace him as the wicket-keeper and will continue to open the innings. Patel was in a good touch going into the IPL and will be one man who can turn the games around with his batting as well.

Chennai’s best bet is for their batsmen to unleash their power by batting first and then expect their slower bowlers to take over. R Ashwin and Muthiah Muralitharan have been at their best, and with Shadab Jakati waiting in the ranks, it is only natural that the side will go into the game as favourites

Tag :- Brett Lee   Chennai Super Kings   Kings XI Punjab   Muthiah Muralitharan   Suresh Raina   Yuvraj Singh