A rampant Chennai Super Kings side will face the Victoria Bushrangers in a crucial encounter in this Group A match at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Friday. The Super Kings are in top spot in Group A having won their first two games with relative ease and healthy margins. Their run rate is more than plus three and are in a very comfortable position going into the final two league games. However, the real competition starts from here as their first two matches have been against Wayamba and the Central Stags, probably the two weakest sides in the group. For Victoria, this match is a do or die game, as a loss could virtually seal their exit from the competition.

The Super Kings side are a very strong batting unit but their bowling too has been very good in the tournament so far. Ravichandran Ashwin, the off spinner, is the leading wicket taker in the tournament with Juan Theron of the Warriors. Both are currently on six wickets each. The good thing about their bowling is that all their bowlers have been among the wickets. The opening bowlers, Albie Morkel and Doug Bollinger, have picked up wickets early and have piled pressure on the opposition, making the spinners' job easy. The spinners too have responded by picking wickets and finishing off the innings perfectly.

Like their bowlers, all their top order batsmen, barring Matthew Hayden, have been among the runs. Subramanian Badrinath and Anirudha Srikkanth got the runs in the first game and in the next it was Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina who got the runs. They got it in quick time too to take the team to 200.

Victoria lost their first game against a spirited Warriors side that pressurized the Bushrangers by picking wickets at regular intervals and through some excellent catching. However, they got back on track in their next game against the Central Stags winning a close encounter with two balls to spare. They were helped by a spectacular innings from Aaron Finch who stayed there till the end to kill the game. However, their bowling was a disappointment once again. Peter Siddle, who replaced Shane Harwood, picked up two early wickets but was expensive conceding 30 runs in three overs.

They will need their bowlers to deliver against this strong Chennai batting line up. They bat deep and will be a challenge for the Victorian bowlers who have not looked good so far.

Tag :- Albie Morkel   Chennai Super Kings   Ravichandran Ashwin   Shane Harwood   Suresh Raina   Victoria Bushrangers