Can Chennai Super Kings Return to the Pinnacle this time?

Chennai Super Kings are the most successful side to have competed in the IPL. They have the won the title twice (2010 and 2011), the Champions League T20 in 2010, and have reached the final in the last four editions. They boast one of the strongest sides in the competition, having several Indian international players in their team along with a strong overseas contingent. As such, a large number of people consider Chennai the favorites going into the IPL 2014.

However, despite their consistent good performances, it has been two years since Chennai last savored victory, with an epic run chase by Kolkata denying them in 2012 and only last year, their batting lineup experienced a rare collapse against a determined Mumbai bowling lineup in a thrilling low scoring game. But the Super Kings are a determined setup and their intention to chase the title was clearly signaled in this years’ player auction, where they made several expensive and high profile purchases. Let’s take a quick look at their team composition.

The batting line up of the Super Kings has always been their strength, and it continues to be so in this edition, where the team invested significant resources in buying the explosive openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith and South Africa T20 captain Faf du Plessis to replace the outgoing Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay.
These players join the retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dwayne Bravo, all of whom are proven, exciting batsmen in the T20 format, to ensure that Chennai should have no problems in the batting department, at least on paper. However, both Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith were unconvincing in the recently concluded world T20s, and Indian batsmen like Dhoni and Jadeja have hardly had any time out in the middle during the entire tournament. Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis have seen plenty of the ball though, and have been in pleasing form lately.

More possible contributors to the scoreboard could be the young all rounder Baba Aparajith, who has a string of impressive performances in first class cricket and veteran batsman Mithun Manhas, who could be called upon to open the innings should another player fail to find his form. All rounder Vijay Shankar could also be someone to watch out for as the tournament progresses.

As for the bowling, Chennai and Dhoni have generally favored the slower bowlers over the seamers, and in this edition too they boast a strong spin contingent. Ravichandran Ashwin, always a consistent performer, has been in breathtaking form lately. Who can forget his dismissal of Hashim Amla in the semifinal, with a gem of a delivery? Part time spinners Jadeja and Raina are also sure to feature regularly in the skipper’s plans. Another possible alternative is West Indian leggie Samuel Badree, currently the top ranked bowler on the ICC charts.

If Chennai have a weakness, it can only be their fast bowling department. They have always had a lack of world class pace options. Albie Morkel was their go-to spearhead, but they decided not to retain his services this season. Mohit Sharma, their other main seamer, had a brilliant IPL season last year, but has proven expensive in the few international games he has played so far, probably because he lacks true pace. Ben Hilfenhaus is therefore their only true frontline seam option, with either Mohit Sharma or veteran pacer Ashish Nehra to share the new ball with him. We might also see Dhoni opt for Ishwar Pandey, a promising first class bowler. Also expect to see Dwayne Bravo chipping in with frequent wickets, as he has proven himself to be a versatile option in the middle overs.

As to tactics, Chennai generally favor letting their opponents have a bat first, as they back themselves to be able to chase down most targets. Typically, Dhoni looks to his seamers to make a couple of early inroads before bringing on his spinners, whose job is to strangle the opponents’ run rate and put them under pressure. It is a tactic that has worked for them season after season and there is no reason to think that they will make any drastic changes anytime soon.

The shifting of the first half of the tournament to the UAE might actually benefit Chennai, since the dusty tracks available there generally do not aid the pacers, while the spinners can extract all manner of turn and bounce from them. As such, apart from truly fast bowlers like Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn, who can trouble batsmen with sheer pace alone, most other seamers should have a hard time, while spinners should be in the wickets. This will benefit teams with world class spinners, so we could see both Ashwin and Badree feature in the Chennai starting lineup.

Chennai will be looking to continue their run of strong results in the IPL, and their fans will undoubtedly be expecting them to at least book a place in the final and maybe even bring home the trophy. With the number of match winners that Chennai boast in their side, we could easily see that happen. Things to look out for would be the devastating batting of West Indians Smith and Bravo, along with consistent performances from Raina. Fans would also be hoping for high scoring cameos from Jadeja and Dhoni lower down the order. In the bowling department, Ashwin is someone to watch out for, while Mohit Sharma will be looking to impress his captain. Hilfenhaus and Badree are also players who can single handedly win a match on their day.

Chennai are a team who are impossible to stop when in form, and it remains to be seen whether their opponents will be able to capitalize on their minute weaknesses or momentary lapses as Mumbai were able to do last year. As for the players themselves, especially Dhoni, they will be looking to give their best performances on the field to ensure that the focus remains on the field and not the controversies that have plagued the team and their owners off of it. Whatever the result of the tournament, Chennai will undoubtedly put in some crowd pleasing performances to remember.

Probable Starting XI: Smith, Du Plessis, Raina, Aparajith, Bravo, Dhoni (c, wk), Jadeja, Ashwin, Sharma, Pandey, Hilfenhaus.