The Official Chennai Super Kings Supporters Thread!!!!

[satishg]

Ajantha mendis and murali in one team..man that wud be fun..

[IndianRenegade]

Dhoni’s Kings need to be super charged Chennai, May 6: Chennai Super Kings might be feeling the heat in more ways than one following two back-to-back defeats in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament as they gear up to take on the Deccan Chargers here tonight. “We will begin the game as the underdogs,” declared Super Kings’ director for cricketing operations V B Chandrasekar here today as he weighed the prospects. Obviously, the shock eight-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Sunday night when the Super Kings were shut out for 109, has put things in perspective for Super Kings who are still to come to terms with the loss three key players – Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey (both Australia) and Jacob Oram (New Zealand) – who have flown home to join their respective National teams for international duties. Although on paper, opening batsman Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) and South Africans Makhaya Ntini, the fast bowler, and all-rounder Albie Morkel, have made for adequate replacements, the Super Kings have still to forge a fresh combination in the wake of the changes. The two defeats following a sequence of four consecutive victories have repositioned Super Kings in the fourth spot on the IPL leaderboard and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hopes to turn things around tonight with a victory against the Chargers who are presently in the IPL basement with just one win from six outings. Dhoni had promised that his team would “bounce back” after the loss to Delhi Daredevils last week, but his hopes were scuttled in Jaipur where the Super Kings collapsed against the seam bowling of Sohail Tanvir who went on to claim a record six wickets for 14 runs in four overs. The Super Kings are understandably concerned about the lack of good starts that did them in against the Daredevils and Royals. Fleming made 13 and 0 while his opening partner Parthiv Patel had scores of 21 and 0. Thus, the middle-order batsmen have always been under pressure having to step up the pace as well as guard their wickets. Against Chargers, though, the Super Kings hope to come good and get back to winning ways. Dhoni will yet again be the key batsman in the middle-order and will have to lead the team from the front as he always likes to do. He has been in middling to good form in the tournament with scores of 2, 30, 43 not out, 65, 32 and 1, while moving himself up and down the order between No.4 to 6. Against the Chargers, the Super Kings top order needs to click and in this context, the onus is on Fleming and Parthiv to provide a solid start on which the likes of Dhoni, Suresh Raina and S Badrinath can build on. On their part, the Chargers are obviously determined to reverse their trend of defeats with a strong performance tonight. They have the ammunition and as their skipper VVS Laxman remarked, the Hyderabad outfit was unlucky to lose a couple of matches when in seemingly winning positions. “We have batsmen capable of big hitting and also seamers who can perform well against the left-handers of Super Kings. Although Chaminda Vaas is not available for the game – Vaas is in Sri Lanka to be with his wife who delivered their third child yesterday – I feel our bowling is still strong enough,” declared Laxman. The key to the Chargers hopes would be opener Adam Gilchrist who on his day can destroy any attack. Laxman would thus be looking up to the Aussie, besides Kiwi Scott Styris, to fire on all cylinders so as to give his team an even chance of winning. Given the situation the two teams find themselves in, the game, scheduled to commence at 8 pm, promises to be an absorbing and tense encounter that could well resemble a toe-to-toe slugfest. The teams will finalise their respective playing elevens closer to the start of the game.

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

We will begin the game as the underdogs,” declared Super Kings’ director for cricketing operations V B Chandrasekar here today as he weighed the prospects. hahahahaha Right ON!

[satishg]

We will begin the game as the underdogs,†declared Super Kings’ director for cricketing operations V B Chandrasekar here today as he weighed the prospects. hahahahaha Right ON!

well thats the truth..there are no superstars in our team anymore except for MSD..so v have to be the underdogs against all opponents except BRC amd MI :D

[IndianRenegade]

Gilchrist leads Deccan charge to victory Chennai, May 6: Chennai Super Kings, under pressure after losing two consecutive matches, crashed to their third defeat by seven wickets against a rejuvenated Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here tonight. The Chargers, led by Adam Gilchrist for an injured VVS Laxman, restricted the Super Kings to 144 for seven in 20 overs and then knocked off the required runs in 18 overs to post only their second win in seven matches. Gilchrist, declared Man of the Match, did the bulk of damage as he slammed 54 (38b, 2 x 6, 7 x 4) to lay the foundation for a successful chase after the early loss of his opening partner Herschelle Gibbs. Also playing their part for the Chargers were Rohit Sharma (23), Scott Styris (36 not out) and Shahid Afridi (20 not out) who in fact scored all his runs off Joginder Sharma, bowling the 18th over with a couple of huge sixes and as many boundaries. The Chargers onslaught took a heavy toll of the Super Kings bowlers among whom Joginder went for 45 runs in three overs while Makhaya Ntini, after a promising start, conceded 37. Albie Morkel bowled reasonably well to claim 1 for 26. Manpreet Gony was yet again the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 15 in his three overs while off-spinner Muttaiah Muralitharan had 1 for 24. Earlier, Morkel (29 not out, 19b), Joginder Sharma (16, 10b) and Gony (15 not out, 7b) propelled the Super Kings to a reasonable total after some disastrous batting at the top of the order. In fact the Super Kings lost four wickets by the seventh over due to a combination of indiscreet shot selection and some brilliant catching. And worse was to follow as with their six specialist batsmen, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, back in the dugout for 86 in the 15th over, Super Kings appeared headed towards another low score. However, the trio of Morkel, Joginder and Gony slammed a total of five sixes and two boundaries to provide some cheer to the crowd as also their team-mates. There was little to enthuse about when the Super Kings began their innings. Both openers, Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel did not appear a settled pair, and it was not long before the first wicket fell. Patel, who survived a caught-and-bowled chance off the fifth delivery of the first over, top-edged the next ball attempting a hook and R P Singh, running from fine-leg took a brilliant catch to present Vijay Kumar his wicket. Yet again, the Super Kings came under pressure and it helped their cause none when debutant Anirudha Srikkanth and Fleming departed in quick succession to leave the hosts at 33 for three after 5.4 overs. Anirudha, after playing and missing, top-edged RP Singh to Afridi in the covers and then Rohit Sharma held a brilliant catch to get rid of Fleming who uppishly drove Scott Styris to covers. Gibbs, fielding at short third man, went one better as he took off like a rocket to catch a tentative glide by S Badrinath off Shahid Afridi as the Super Kings slid to 43 for four after 6.5 overs. In walked Dhoni with a huge weight of expectations on his shoulders. Along with Suresh Raina, who was batting quite competently at the other end, Dhoni sought to repair the damage. The Chargers kept things tight and with runs not coming at a fast clip, both Dhoni and Raina grew in frustration. Predictably, Raina, attempting a cover drive off Sanjay Bangar, only succeeded in offering a tame catch to Rohit Sharma after making a 21-ball 32 and adding 39 runs in 40 deliveries for the fifth wicket with Dhoni. Dhoni (23) too left in the next over as his attempted sweep off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ohja came off the lead edge and Aridi easily took the lobbed catch at backward point. Morkel and Joginder then added 38 runs in 23 balls for the seventh wicket to take Super Kings total past the 100-mark. Joginder was dismissed in the 19th over as he heaved across the line to be bowled by RP Singh. The final over, bowled by Sanjay Bangar, yielded 20 runs as Super Kings heaved a sigh of relief as it gave them a fighting chance. The last three overs were the most productive for Super Kings as they produced 37 runs.

[IndianRenegade]

No need to panic, says Dhoni Chennai, May 7: Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sought to calm the nerves by saying there was no need for panic after his team suffered third consecutive defeat in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here late last night. The Super Kings went down to Deccan Chargers by seven wickets, a result that sent team’s Net Run Rate in the negative for the first time since the competition began last month. They continue to occupy the fourth position on the leaderboard on the strength of the four wins they had chalked up prior to the three defeats.

Speaking to the Media after the game, Dhoni admitted that the much-hyped batting strength of his team was a letdown. “We have been losing too many wickets too early and also our combinations have not been working well. Our batsmen have been playing too many shots,” he said as he looked back at the three losses. The Super Kings made 169 for six against Delhi Daredevils, 109 all out versus Rajasthan Royals and the Chargers restricted them to 144 for seven last night. In each of these matches, the Super Kings failed to get a good start with openers Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel dismissed cheaply. Dhoni said it was quite possible that he might promote himself in the batting order in a bid to bring about the much-needed stability and early pace to the innings. “I might go up to No.3 or No.4 if required, but our overall strategy would not change,” he said. He preferred to take a philosophical perspective on his team’s position and performance by saying there was no need for any panic and that ups and downs were to be expected in a competition such as the IPL where each team plays 14 matches in the league with the top four advancing to the knock-out phase of semi-finals and final. “Tonight, our bowlers did not have the cushion of a big total and although they bowled quite well, we did not have enough runs on the board,” he pointed out and added: “We should not panic at this stage and I hope that the Chennai public will continue to support us. We are still to settle down as a combination, but we hope to turn things around.” The Super Kings left for New Delhi where they next meet Delhi Daredevils on Thursday at 4 pm. Meanwhile, Dhoni’s counterpart, Adam Gilchrist, who was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant knock of 54, attributed his team’s success to the hard work put in by the bowlers. “Our bowlers did a fantastic job tonight and provided our batsmen the platform for the chase,” he said as he led the Chargers to their second win in seven matches in the absence of an injured VVS Laxman. The former Aussie wicket-keeper hoped that his team would be able to sustain the momentum and that the Hyderabad outfit would get back on track. “T20 is a test of character and tonight’s victory has put us back on the road. Hopefully, we will be able to sustain the momentum. We have the talent, but that does not guarantee anything unless we work hard during our training sessions,” he said. When asked about the scheduling of the IPL that involves a lot of traveling within the country, Gilchrist said: “The schedule indeed is quite difficult for the teams. So, it all depends on how quickly you identify your problems and solve them. We have improved a lot and hopefully, we will carry on with the good work in Jaipur when we meet the Rajasthan Royals next,” he said.

[Guest HariSampath]

The Superkings batting had been wobbling for 3 matches now, from the Daredevils game itself. They just dont seem to know how to go about setting a target, and lose wkts at the top and Dhoni has proved to be very stubborn and fixated about batting first. The facts are a game can be lost within the first 30 min itself if 2 wkts go in first 5 overs, because the team will be on the backfoot and in a rebuild mode for next 10 overs and in the process RR suffers, more wkts fall and the approach becomes completely confused. Team selection , already hit by Hayden and co leaving, are even more puzzling. How can a player like Vidyut who got a 54 off 37 balls against McGrath, Asif and co on debut be dropped for just 1 failure and parthiv patel retained , despite having been a total failure in first 6 games ? Utter nonsense. Hope Dhoni gets it right at least now. In some ways, tomorrow's game being against Daredevils is good, because there wont be the pressure of playing weaker sides and losing, CSK can play freely as the pressure is only on DD to retain their position near the top. And a win against DD will be tremendous boost for CSK.

[swami1984]

CSK can play freely as the pressure is only on DD to retain their position near the top. And a win against DD will be tremendous boost for CSK.

Think again - CSK will have the pressure of not losing and maintaining their position in the top 4...if they lose, then theyre only one game ahead of either BRC or KKR (theyre both playing on thu) or DC (if DC wins against RR) or even MI (if they win against RR)

[swami1984]

The Superkings batting had been wobbling for 3 matches now, from the Daredevils game itself. They just dont seem to know how to go about setting a target, and lose wkts at the top and Dhoni has proved to be very stubborn and fixated about batting first. The facts are a game can be lost within the first 30 min itself if 2 wkts go in first 5 overs, because the team will be on the backfoot and in a rebuild mode for next 10 overs and in the process RR suffers, more wkts fall and the approach becomes completely confused. Team selection , already hit by Hayden and co leaving, are even more puzzling. How can a player like Vidyut who got a 54 off 37 balls against McGrath, Asif and co on debut be dropped for just 1 failure and parthiv patel retained , despite having been a total failure in first 6 games ? Utter nonsense. Hope Dhoni gets it right at least now. In some ways, tomorrow's game being against Daredevils is good, because there wont be the pressure of playing weaker sides and losing, CSK can play freely as the pressure is only on DD to retain their position near the top. And a win against DD will be tremendous boost for CSK.

This is stating the obvious, but something needs to be done about that opening pair

[IndianRenegade]

This is stating the obvious' date=' but something needs to be done about that opening pair[/quote'] How obvious is it, to Dhoni? "I might go up to No.3 or No.4 if required, but our overall strategy would not change"

[swami1984]

How obvious is it, to Dhoni? "I might go up to No.3 or No.4 if required, but our overall strategy would not change"

ahhh come on doesn't mean that for the next match he has to follow what he said at the end of the previous match. Of course, he could also be sinister and lying through his teeth right here. Dhoni is by no means a bhola-bhala saccha insaan

[Guest HariSampath]

This is stating the obvious' date=' but something needs to be done about that opening pair[/quote'] Yes, Parthiv has to go and Vidyuth be back. My batting order for the next game would be 1. Fleming 2.Anirudh 3.Morkel 4. Badri/vidyut 5.Dhoni 6.Raina 7.vidyut/badri

[Feed]

We need to stick to our plans :Dhoni The T20 format is all about keeping wickets in hand and all teams have to plan accordingly, writes MS Dhoni. More... We need to stick to our plans Mahendra Singh Dhoni May 08, 2008 First Published: 00:30 IST(8/5/2008) Last Updated: 01:27 IST(8/5/2008) The last week we played three games and have not been able to win a single one. Of the three defeats, the first was against Delhi, and that was entirely due to the magnificent innings played by Virender Sehwag. Thereafter, we have had unsuccessful outings against Jaipur and Hyderabad. In both these games, we lost too many wickets upfront, and since this format gives you little time to recover from a poor start, we lost the matches as soon as we lost wickets in the first six overs. A winning total after a poor start might happen in one out of 60 games, but most often it means that the team will not have enough on the board. The Twenty20 format is all about keeping wickets in hand and all teams have to plan accordingly. It might be a shortcoming in the format, but every format does have its negatives and positives, so it’s important that the team’s strategy factors in the lack of recovery time. Among the teams we have played against, Jaipur looked like a side that is really executing its plans well. The game had a special experience in store for me because I got to face Shane Warne for the first time. Looking ahead, we meet Delhi once again. Things might be a bit difficult for them this time, because conditions are quite different. The wicket at Chepauk offered a lot of bounce and couple of balls really took off when they were batting. The wicket in Delhi might be better suited to us, but it is important for us to stick to our plans. We must bowl with discipline and make the batsmen take risks, and when we bat we must not give wickets to Delhi’s opening bowlers. At present, we are really learning the value of having four wins in the bank. We are planning a few experiments with the batting and will be trying a slightly new combination as well. All this is possible because we do have a few wins on our side, and the situation is not do-or-die just yet. It’s when a side is losing that the team spirit and togetherness is really tested, and we are coping pretty well at the moment. We have plenty of activities and have been enjoying our time together. Most importantly, we are really enjoying our cricket, which helps in such times. For me personally, I am happy with the way I am keeping to Muttiah Muralitharan now. It was a little difficult in the first few games, especially under the lights, but I have started picking his doosra quite well now. At present, I am focusing on cricket and not on singing, and contrary to reports I have not recorded our team song in Hindi. I am a bathroom singer, and plan to keep it that way for the time being. Gameplan.

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Chennai Super Kings : Yellow submarine After winning four matches consecutively, Chennai team is saddled with a hat-trick of losses. KR Guruprasad examines... More... Yellow submarine K R Guruprasad , Hindustan Times New Delhi, May 08, 2008 First Published: 02:41 IST(8/5/2008) Last Updated: 02:43 IST(8/5/2008) If there’s a team living the adage that well begun is only half done, it is the one from Chennai. Easily one of the three strongest units in the IPL, M.S. Dhoni’s men have seen a four-match winning streak snap and how. Call it the seven-match itch or what you will, but after having painted the tournament yellow with four victories they have been saddled with a hat-trick of losses. With a superstar captain in M.S. Dhoni, one of the best opening batsmen in Matthew Hayden and legendary off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan in their ranks, Chennai’s beginning with a bang was no surprise. But Delhi halted their good run with a thumping win, which coincided with the departure of Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram for their respective countries. And for all of Dhoni’s denials that their exit hasn’t affected the team, Chennai lost away to Jaipur and ‘surprise, surprise’ at home to Hyderabad. Their batting looks depleted now and always considered a weak link the bowling has stayed that despite reinforcements in the form of Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel. The H factor There was a certain spring in the team’s steps when Hayden practised with them. Surely, the opposition bowlers were not amused when little Parthiv Patel and strapping Hayden walked in to bat. With the Aussie around, bowlers certainly couldn’t have afforded a laugh at the contrast in size. And after Hayden, there was Hussey (Michael), who delivered in the first three matches. Hussey’s century in Mohali and Big Matt’s 81 against Mumbai and 70 against Kolkata were easily the match-winning knocks. And Dhoni’s half-century made the difference against Bangalore. Without the H factor, Chennai don’t quite look the same. Parthiv and Stephen Fleming have not exactly put fear of God in the bowlers’ hearts. Though Dhoni and coach Kepler Wessels have said that replacements for the Aussies are good in their own way, Chennai’s totals in the last three matches are a good enough indicator of how conspicuous the Australians have been by their absence. But, Chennai can take heart from the fact that Suresh Raina has been in great form. Easily their best batsman so far, Raina has scored consistently and quickly. In the first couple of matches, he batted down the order. But in the last three matches he has been promoted and made the difference between a low total and a fighting score. Morkel too has chipped in with useful knocks in the last two matches. His 42 against Jaipur brought some respectability to their total of 107. But when a team which had totals of 240/5, 208/5, 178/5 post scores like 107, 144 it tells its own story. And that sums up how life’s been without Hayden and Hussey. Rookie revelation If you had Muralitharan as an option, surely you could not be termed a weak bowling attack. But barring the Sri Lankan, the attack has looked weak. And they won the first three of their four matches because batsmen gave them big totals to defend. Yet rookies Palani Amarnath and Manpreet Gony have done decently. Oram was effective against Kolkata and Murali was magical with his none for 12 against the same team. Ntini and Morkel have joined them after Oram, but they haven’t got big totals to defend and it would be unfair to say the South Africans don’t quite add up to Oram's value to the team.

[IndianRenegade]

We need to improve further, says Dhoni New Delhi, May 9: A visibly relieved Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the four-wicket, last-ball win against the Delhi Daredevils at the Kotla here last night in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament would restart his team’s campaign that nearly ran aground after three consecutive defeats. “We made quite a few changes today, tried out different things, like batting second and giving ourselves a good start. I am happy that the team combined well and we won,” the captain said soon after the thriller. However, he was not to be swayed by emotions despite the welcome win. “Our fielding was not good today and our bowlers did not bowl enough yorkers, but pitched it short and wide. This is one area we need to work on,” he said reviewing his team’s overall performance. Dhoni paid tributes to openers Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Stephen Fleming for the solid start they provided when the Super Kings chased a target of 188. “Vidyut and Fleming batted extremely well and then, Albie Morkel played a crucial innings, especially the 23 runs he took off Sehwag in one over. I wanted to stay on till the end, but unfortunately got out, but I am happy that Gony and Badri got us the runs in the end,” he observed. Dhoni said after suffering three defeats, he tried to rally his troops by exhorting the players to participate more in each other’s success. “Tonight, after we scored the winning runs, we ran on to the ground and celebrated. There is a perception that our team is very quiet and do not express themselves. Tonight, I wanted our players to enjoy the moment and express their emotions. That is why you saw the entire team celebrating the victory on the ground,” he said.

Dhoni referred to his earlier remarks about teams suffering defeats in a long tournament such as the IPL. “The four victories we scored at the start provided us the cushion and tonight’s win has helped us to get back on track,” Dhoni averred. The Super Kings, in fact, carried out four changes, notably bringing back Vidyut, who had scored a half-century against Daredevils in the home match that the Chennai team lost, and Palani Amarnath who had played the first four games. Also inducted were Sri Lanka’s 21-year old Chamara Kapudegera and Lakshmipathy Balaji while dropping Makhaya Ntini, Parthiv Patel, Joginder Sharma and Anirudha Srikkanth. By all accounts, the Super Kings appear to have discovered their winning combination that bowled and batted far better than in the previous three games. Presently placed third in the points table, Super Kings might well have authored the first chapter of their “second innings” that could take them to the semi-finals. Early days yet since they have to get through another six matches, but the indications are there.

[IndianRenegade]

Punjab Kings have come back stronger: Yuv Chennai, May 9: Yuvraj Singh neatly ducked a “bouncer” when he asserted that the game between the Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament here tomorrow is a contest between two teams and not captains. His assertion came as a response to a query from the Media to compare the two rival captains – Yuvraj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni – as he preferred to talk about the forthcoming game rather than personalities.

Talking about the two losses his team suffered at the start of the IPL, including one against the Super Kings at Mohali, Yuvraj said: “Those losses gave us a chance to assess our game and what was going wrong. We assigned roles and worked on plans and communicated well as a team to overcome it.” He added that the loss of Brett Lee who has left the IPL due to international commitments with the Australian national team, has not had an adverse effect on their bowling line up. “It was important for the other bowlers to take up responsibility and they have. Irfan and Sreesanth have done especially well,” he observed. On tomorrow’s game, he said Chennai’s bad record in the last few games batting first, will not affect his decision at the toss. “I’m not worried about what they are doing. We will play to our strengths and make a decision based on the conditions,” he stated. Meanwhile former Australian cricketer and the coach of Kings XI Punjab, Tom Moody, commenting on tomorrow’s game, said: “Tomorrow is a new day and we (Kings XI) will not be thinking about our string of victories as that has no bearing on tomorrow’s game.’ Moody was pleased with the balance of his side, saying: “We have good bowlers and batsmen who can adjust to any situation. We also have good all-rounders.” The Punjab Kings will be without the services of Kumar Sangakkara who is still on the injured list. “Sangakkara is making progress but we do not want to rush him. He should be ready in a week,” said Moody. Taking an overview of the IPL competition, he felt the tournament is one of the most important tournaments in cricket today. “Twenty20 around the world has taken off, but nowhere has the excitement matched that of the IPL. All the world’s best players are here, so it is really big and pleases both the players and crowd alike,” he said while admitting that the IPL did not overshadow the T2O World Championship, but was “King” on the domestic front. - Sinndhuja Ramprasad and Nikita Bastian

[IndianRenegade]

Balaji hat-trick helps Super Kings post a win Chennai, May 10: Lakshmipathy Balaji came up with a dream spell of bowling as his five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, powered Chennai Super Kings to an 18-run victory against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, here tonight. Balaji, returning to competitive cricket after a two-year break, delivered death blows to the Punjab team by first taking two wickets in one over to remove the dangerous Shaun Marsh (58) and skipper Yuvraj Singh (2). He then returned to bowl the final over the innings and took three wickets, those of Irfan Pathan (40), Piyush Chawa (17) and VRV Singh (0) off consecutive deliveries to round off a fine performance.

Thus, Kings XI, chasing a victory target of 182, were pegged to 163 for nine after the Super Kings had recovered from early reverses to make 181 for four. The star of the evening was no doubt Balaji who bowled with control and stuck to the basics for his rich haul of wickets that underlined his disciplined approach after Albie Morkel and Manpreet Gony had done the early damage by taking a wicket apiece. The Kings XI batsmen succumbed to pressure with wickets falling at regular intervals and the asking rate mounting with each delivery. In fact, the Super Kings bowlers overall displayed far more discipline and control than their rivals who wasted an excellent opportunity earlier in the evening when Yuvraj won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. The Super Kings did well to make 181 in their 20 overs thanks in the main to a 91-run partnership between skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (60) and Subramaniam Badrinath (64). The home team could not have got off to a worse start than losing both their openers, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Stephen Fleming by the third over with just 20 runs on the board as Sreesanth, bowling well within himself, claimed the wickets. Vidyut, following his half-century against Delhi Daredevils earlier this week, looked in good touch with two consecutive boundaries in the first over before edging to Mahela Jayawardane at second slip, chasing a widish delivery. At the other end, Fleming played a tame off-drive to offer a simple catch at mid-off to Karan Goel. Suresh Raina (26) and Badrinath somewhat retrieved the situation with a 44-run partnership for the third wicket. However, Raina left with the score on 64 in the seventh over, top-edging a sweep to Shaun Marsh off leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Then followed the best period in the Super Kings innings as Badrinath and Dhoni got together in an entertaining partnership that virtually took the game away from Punjab. Badrinath, in particular, was in sublime form, playing authentic cricketing shots to all parts of the ground while Dhoni matched him stroke for stroke at the other end. Batting with unbridled aggression, the pair went on to add 91 runs in 64 balls, both completing their respective half-centuries. While Badrinath took 33 balls for his 50, Dhoni achieved his off 37 to push Punjab on the defensive. However, Punjab reigned in the Super Kings with some tight bowling with Yuvraj bringing back Sreesanth and VRV Singh. Growing in desperation, Badrinath mistimed a big heave off VRV Singh to offer a simple catch to Yuvraj. Dhoni then ensured Super Kings a challenging total with a couple of big hits off Hopes, bowling the 19th over before Irfan Pathan closed the innings with a tight final over in which he conceded just five runs. Punjab, who had begun well, failed to sustain the early discipline with their bowlers guilty of sending down 10 wides.

[IndianRenegade]

Badrinath happy to prove a point Chennai, May 11: For Subramaniam Badrinath, it was a heaven-sent opportunity last night here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with Chennai Super Kings innings in disarray at 20 for two in the third over against Kings XI Punjab, to showcase his versatility as a top-order batsman. And he did so in a telling manner. Playing some glorious cricketing shots, 27-year old Badrinath went on to score 64 off 47 balls and in the company of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (60), pulled the Super Kings out of the woods and lay a foundation for a match-winning total with a 91-run partnership. “For some reason, people said I was not cut out for the ODI or for that matter T20, although I have been scoring heavily for Tamil Nadu in the one-dayers. Tonight, I got the opportunity to prove the point that I can bat in any format of the game,” he said reflecting on his wondrous innings. Considering that the opportunities to play a long innings in T20 are all too rare, Badrinath, who represented India in five ODIs with a highest score of 40 not out, was determined to make the best of the situation. He had plenty of overs left to settle down and get cracking, and he did precisely that. To the packed crowd, Badrinath’s batting was a revelation. He picked the length early and middled virtually every stroke he played, whether it was a well-timed drive or the lofted shot.

So much so that one of his peers, Krish Srikkanth, on his visit to the Media box, was moved to describe Badrinath’s innings as “fantastic” while pointing out that the batsman did not play a single false stroke. “Every shot Badri played was authentic and genuine cricketing shots. It was truly a fantastic innings under pressure,” remarked Srikkanth. When he walked in to bat, Badrinath’s plan was to knock a few balls around to settle into a groove before opening out. “I wanted to play six balls and play them straight. When I began to time my shots, I grew in confidence. I was quite happy with my innings tonight. After all, you do not get too many opportunities to bat in T20 and I wanted to make the best of the opportunity and prove that I could score in this format too,” said Badrinath who has scored 4,576 for Tamil Nadu with a best of 206 not out. Incidentally, Badrinath had made 31 not out against Kings XI at Mohali when the teams met first time, and had helped Mike Hussey (114 not out) to add 73 runs for the sixth wicket as Super Kings posted 240, the highest so far in the IPL as the Chennai team went on to win the game comfortably.

[Guest HariSampath]

Badrinath, who represented India in five ODIs with a highest score of 40 not out,

What sort of ill informed writing is this...when did Badri play 5 ODIs ?? which news is this ?

[IndianRenegade]

:hysterical: it is from the official website of Chennai super kings.