Mahendra Singh Dhoni returns to the Punjab Cricket Stadium for the second time in less than a fortnight. The hype that surrounded the India-Pakistan clash in the World Cup semifinal is understandably missing. And Dhoni is not complaining.
This time around, as skipper of Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni will have a lot less on his mind ahead of Wednesday's clash against a struggling Kings XI Punjab.
The excitement of the IPL is still to pick up in this sleepy city. Even some of the securitymen at the stadium were unaware of the visiting team. Mention of Dhoni and Suresh Raina, however, lit up their faces.
Going by the current confidence levels of the Super Kings and the Kings XI, it is clear that the former is determined and the latter desperate.
Good away record
So far, Chennai has won all its away games against Punjab. In fact, last April the team chased down 192 at Dharamsala in its final league match and then went on to win the title. Punjab, a slow-starter that has lost its first two games in all previous editions, ended up last in 2010.
Besides history, what makes Chennai the favourite is the fact that it is a better balanced unit.
In the opening clash, Chennai's pluck and share of luck combined to snatch a two-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
On the other hand, Adam Gilchrist-led Punjab was soundly thrashed by Pune Warriors in its campaign opener. The margin of defeat could have been reduced — from seven wickets — had the team accepted the offerings from Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa.
Gilchrist knows only too well that underdogs enjoy a fair chance of upstaging favourites in the shortest version of the game. In fact, the wicketkeeper-captain himself can play a match-winning role.
Gilchrist is the key
Given the resources at his disposal, Gilchrist understands how much the team depends on him for a flying start. If Gilchrist and fellow-opener Shaun Marsh, one of the few players retained by the franchise, get going, Chennai can face serious problems.
The middle-order, where Dinesh Karthik and Abhishek Nayar are the two proven names, will be bolstered if David Hussey gets to play after he reaches here late on Tuesday. All-rounder Ryan McLaren can once again be expected to contribute.
The bowling department, with Praveen Kumar, Nathan Rimmington, McLaren, Piyush Chawla, apart from all-rounders like Ryan Harris and Vikramjit Malik, looks inadequate to test the strong Chennai line-up.
Therefore, Gilchrist will be hoping to bat first, put up a formidable total and then pray that the team fields much better than it did against Pune.
For Dhoni, known to set exacting standards, only an improved performance can make him smile.
