Power-cricket to the fore

Two of the biggest hitters India has produced will face-off when the Chennai Super Kings take on the Kings XI Punjab at Mohali today.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings in their opening fixture of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) against a Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI Punjab.

With Kiwi Brendon McCullum’s 73-ball whirlwind innings of 158 setting the tone on the first day, fans will sure be expecting a lot more action from the local boys. With power-hitters like Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram and the captain MS Dhoni in their ranks, the Chennai Super Kings have a formidable batting line-up and will give Yuvraj’s boys a run for their money.

The bowling attack of the Chennai Super Kings doesn’t look as tough, but they’ve got the wily Muttiah Muralidaran, who should be counted as a definite starter, and sharing the bowling responsibilities with him in all likelihood would be Joginder Sharma and bowler-turned-batsman-turned-allrounder Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan. Jacob Oram could also be asked to roll his arm over.

The Kings XI Punjab team looks a more graceful batting unit, with the likes of captain Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and Ramnaresh Sarwan forming the core of the batting line-up. Brett Lee, Kyle Mills and S Sreesanth bring in the ‘pace’ element to the bowling attack, while Irfan Pathan would bring in the balance, and Ramesh Powar would perhaps be the preferred spin option over Piyush Chawla. Simon Katich, although primarily a batsman, is a capable chinaman bowler and his services could be more than a handful in the shortest format of the game.

Youngsters like Ajitesh Argal, who was part of Indian Under-19 team that won the Under-19 World Cup recently, Karan Goel and Uday Kaul might bring in the local flavour.

While the Chennai Super Kings side looks batting-heavy, the Kings XI Punjab side looks a more balanced outfit and that, coupled with the fact that they play at home, makes them favourites.

Duels to watch out for:

Matthew Hayden Vs. S Sreesanth

MS Dhoni Vs. S Sreesanth and MS Dhoni Vs. Brett Lee

Yuvraj Singh Vs. Muttiah Muralidaran

Quote-hanger:

“There is no friendship on the field. We will want to win the game and have an upper hand in the competition” Yuvraj Singh, captain of the Kings XI Punjab, when asked about his friendship with his opposite number MS Dhoni.

Tags : IPL, Indian Premier League,Crickinfo,Chennai Superkings,Punjab Kings