Defending champs KKR and runners-up CSK will be main contenders
Being defending champions brings a lot of pressure with it. And Kolkata Knight Riders will face it this season.
After toiling in the lower bracket for first three seasons, KKR, under the inspirational leadership of Gautam Gambhir, began their upward march in the fourth season (2011) when they managed to reach the qualifiers for the first time. And their wait for the title ended in 2012 when KKR stunned Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who were looking to complete a hat-trick of IPl titles, in their backyard. Riding on a brilliant knock by Manvinder Bisla (89 off 48 balls), the Kolkata outfit chased down 191-run target set by Chennai to win by five wickets.
It wasn’t a one-off performance. KKR had performed well throughout the tournament finishing just one point behind leaders Delhi Daredevils in the league phase.
The credit for KKR’s success in the last two seasons must go to Gambhir who has been exemplary in both the roles — batsman and captain. He was also the top scorer for KKR with 590 runs including six half-centuries.
However, it would be wrong to say that team depends too much on the left-hander. They have a good squad with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum and Brett lee, who all are capable of winning matches singlehandedly.
After five seasons its pretty clear to every franchise that overseas players alone can’t bring success to the team since only four foreigners are allowed to play in a match. There needs to be a good blend of foreign and domestic players.
And KKR have that base covered too. Besides last year’s final match hero Manvinder Bisla, they have talented Manoj Tiwary, dangerous Yusuf Pathan, promising Debabrata Das, experienced lakshmipathy Balaji and Rajat Bhatia, and upcoming Shami Ahmed to not just support the foreigners but lead the way.
They also have a good line-up of all-rounders, an important factor in this shortest format of the game. Presence of Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Bhatia, Pathan and laxmi Ratan Shukla make KKR a balanced team.
In the last two years, KKR have also improved their performance significantly. In comparison to their 2008 and 2009 performances when they won just 45 and 21 per cent matches respectively, in 2012 their win percentage nearly touched 80 per cent mark. Their overall win percentage is 50 which is likely to improve further.
IPl governing council’s recent decision that Sri lankan players will not appear in the league matches in Chennai given the tension in Tamil Nadu, will not have any impact on KKR.
Trust an instinctive leader, rely on Indian players, stick to a core group and make most of the home conditions, these have been the recipe of Chennai Super Kings' success in the first five editions of the Indian Premier league.
National team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's yellow brigade has triumphed twice (2010 and 2011), reached four semifinals, barring 2009 edition and with most number of wins - 47 with a winning percentage of 57.32%, has been the most decorated team of the IPl.
Normally known as slow-starters, they have been consistent with their performances and have not missed a play-off till date. led by the inspirational Dhoni and coached by New Zealander Stephen Fleming, CSK has been the team to beat throughout the IPl journey. They have not tinkered with the main bunch of players. CSK has shown a lot of faith in the likes of Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Ravichandran Ashwin and Subramaniam Badrinath since the beginning and along with Dhoni, they have formed a strong bunch of Indian players in the squad.
Raina has proved his mettle as the highest run-scorer (2254) in the league and Ashwin has been among the top five bowlers with his off-breaks. Ashwin's capability of being both an economical bowler and a wicket-taking one, has made him a T20 specialist with the support of Sadab Jakati and Ravindra Jadeja.
Dhoni, too beside the captaincy, has contributed immensely as an individual player and whenever he has found his team in trouble, he has come up with a special effort.
Foreign recruits like Albie Morkel, Mike Hussey, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plesis have performed well and this time too, a similar kind of show is expected of them. CSK have filled every gap and are equipped with players for every situation. Flexibility is a typical nature of the team with players like Bravo, Raina, Morkel and Dhoni having the ability to float in any match situations. Fielding is an extra positive for this team-owned by India Cements.
CSK have benefited most from their home ground — the MA Chidambaram Stadium — where they have registered 21 wins in 32 matches and this made the fans call the Fort of Chepauk.
Bat first, post a big total, bring slow bowlers and defend the target on a slow and dusty track is the formula that CSK profess at Chennai. But, Chennai will not be affected by the decision to bar lankan players in their home ground as their two Sri lankan players — Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaye are not in the scheme of things.
This time, the ‘Fortress Chepauk’ is only going to be stronger as the IPl Governing Council has decided against allowing Sri lankan players to play at Chennai considering the anti-Sinhalee sentiment. This will make teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians play without their preferred soldiers.
One of the loopholes that they had was the lack of depth in fast-bowling but with the signing of Australian T20 specialist Dirk Nannes that base has also been covered.
