CSK was said to be entering into playoffs from back door by luck, but they utilized it well to knock out MI from front door. CSK is notorious in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – they take their time to get going, but make it count when it matters. And MS Dhoni’s team is certainly living up to its billing once again. CSK have now won 6 out of 8 knockout games in all IPL’s – a winning percentage of 75%.
Clash of the Titans: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils for place in final
Perhaps CSK’s biggest strength is the collection of big game players in the team. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel… the list just goes on. Crucially, at least one of these these players has delivered in key situations. And Dhoni is more than happy to share the credit with his team-mates. Another stand-out feature of the Chennai Super Kings is the belief players have in themselves, their team’s potential and their captain. Clearly, they are the most successful franchise in the five seasons of the IPL for a reason.
Lifted by their inspired performance against the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings are all set to take on the Delhi Daredevils in the second Qualifier of IPL 5 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, 25th May 2012. The Super Kings, led by M S Dhoni who played a blinder of an innings to propel his team into the qualifier, are peaking at the right time, while the Delhi Daredevils who were dominant in the league stage of the tournament finishing at the top of the table seem to have slackened a bit after their loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders. In an encounter that is effectively a semifinal, both teams will be keen to progress to the finals where they will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on 27th May 2012 at the same venue.
Riding on Man of the Match, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s blistering 20-ball 51-run innings, defending champions Chennai Super Kings majestically marched into the second qualifiers by knocking out Mumbai Indians with a comfortable 38-run victory in the IPL eliminator at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore today. With this win, Chennai inched closer to their third successive title and will now lock horns with Delhi Daredevils on Friday at home in the qualifier-II, the winner of which will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the summit clash on Sunday at the same venue.
There is something special about the Chennai Super Kings. They bloom in times of difficulty. This was one team that seemed to be heading out of the championship at every stage, but they hung on, fighting. Their campaign seemed all over when they needed an improbable three match results to go their way to enable them to quality for the Playoffs. It happened. In eliminator, their campaign seemed over as they lost 2 wickets by the second over. But they hung on. And now, they are just two wins away from a third straight title.
It has been interesting as well since four metros were fighting it out with each other for a place in the final. Mumbai has been knocked out of the race, but fans in the other three cities – Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta – would have their eyes fixed on the second Qualifier, to be played in Chennai, on Friday. As the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi DareDevils lock horns, it’s obvious that Delhi and Chennai will have prayers on their lips for their respective teams. At the same time, the Kolkata Knight Riders and their millions of fans will be watching the match keenly – and it is quite possible that most of them would not be neutral and would want to back their preferred opposition for Sunday’s final, against the Knights.
Tags: Chennai Super Kings, CSK, DD, Delhi Daredevils, Indian Premier League, IPL
