Handed a shock defeat in its tournament opener, former champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would be eager to bounce back against a resurgent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Monday.
Chennai lost to Kings XI Punjab by six wickets on Friday despite posting a mammoth 205. The two-time champion was found wanting in the bowling department as Punjab chased down the seemingly tough target with seven balls to spare.
Delhi, on the other hand, got its act together against Kolkata Knight Riders after the huge loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier.
Super Kings’ batting however seemed to be in good touch with openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum smashing fine half centuries.
But the bowling fell apart in the face of a brutal onslaught by Glenn Maxwell and David Miller. The pace of neither Ashish Nehra nor Mohit Sharma caused much discomfort to the rival.
Unexpected defeatEven senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin failed to come good in Chennai’s unexpected defeat. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men will have to rethink their bowling combination going ahead as the one which took the field against Punjab lacked bite.
Delhi had also opened its campaign with a loss but recovered rather quickly by beating Kolkata. Its batting, which produced a shoddy display in the absence of an injured Kevin Pietersen in the opening match, came across much better in the second game.
It has its share of bowling woes to deal with and it could well be a batsmen’s game when the two sides clash. — PTI
