The Champions League T20 is all set for one final twist in the tale as a determined Chennai Super Kings led by Indian skipper, MS Dhoni take on the unbeaten IPL 2014 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders…
The Champions League T20 is all set for one final twist in the tale as a determined Chennai Super Kings led by Indian skipper, MS Dhoni take on the unbeaten IPL 2014 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the CLT20 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Dhoni’ men were on the losing side when the two sides met in the first encounter of the CLT20 as well as the IPL final where KKR prevailed on both occasions. On current terms, Kolkata start as favourites due to their unbeaten start in the campaign that has seen them register 14 wins in a row starting from IPL-7.
Chennai, on the other hand, had to depend on other teams’ results to make the last-four stage. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team, however, has the ability to turn it around, a quality which was evident in the semifinal against a power-packed Kings XI Punjab side last night.
KKR’s batting is their strongest point as the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Jacques Kallis, will be looking to cash in the runs from the CSK bowlers. The bowling side will be weakened with West Indian Sunil Narine suspended by the authorities due the former’s suspected bowling action. The hopes will reside on young Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla to rake in some wickets.
On the other hand, CSK look a potent force in the batting department with opener Dwayne Smith and the swashbuckling Brendon McCullum terrorising the opposition bowlers. Below the batting order, the likes of Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni could strike fear in any opposing team.
The one that needs improvement will be the bowling department. Bowlers like Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Mohit Sharma must deliver on the day. Even though Nehra has been one of the consistent bowlers in the CSK line-up; the back-up cavalry has yet to show their potential.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (capt), Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, R. Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Pawan Negi, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, John Hastings, Brendon McCullum, Samuel Badree, Francois Du Plessis
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel, Patrick Cummins, Andre Russell.
