The M S Dhoni-led CSK boasts of a strong and balanced line-up and will be eyeing a winning start to their campaign after missing out on the title in 2008 and losing in the semis last year.
The burly Australian Matthew Hayden led the CSK run charts last year and the team will be expecting him to provide thrust at the top. The likes of Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath and the skipper himself can add to the run-scoring.
What must be worrying the CSK think-tank must be the form of the bowlers. The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan suffered at the hands of the Indian batsmen in the recent series and subsequently sustained an injury. The local fans will be hoping that a fit Murali adds teeth to the CSK attack. The South African quick Makhaya Ntini, who has lost some of his sting, will be hoping to break into the first XI and make an impression.
The Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist blamed poor bowling and batting towards the latter part of both innings for the 11-run loss that Deccan Chargers suffered against KKR in the lung-opener and will be expecting an improved performance from the team.
The defending champions were 99 for one at one stage chasing the Knight Riders’ total of 161 for four but once flamboyant Gilchrist, fell for a quick-fire 54 in 35 balls, things fell apart for his team.
It must be said the poor shot selection of the Chargers batsmen let the champions down and they will eager to turn things around. Rohit Sharma, a key player for Hyderabad alongside veterans Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds need to weigh in with solid performance if the team has to tame the Super Kings in its den.
An absorbing contest is on the cards as CSK would want to open with a win and Chargers keen to turn things around quickly.
Teams (from) — Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain), Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Shadab Jakati, Sudeep Tayagi, Manpreet Gony, Murali Vijay, R Ashwin, L Balaji, Hemang Badani, Ganpathy Chandrashekhar, Arun Karthik, Thilan Thushara, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, George Bailey, Justin Kemp, Thisara Perera, M Murlidaran, Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Makhaya Ntini.
Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (Captain), Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Marsh, Chaminda Vaas, Herschelle, Gibbs, Dwayne Smith, Kemar Roach, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, Arjun Yadav, Ravi Teja, T Suman, Anirudh Singh, Ashish Reddy, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Rahul Sharma, Bodapati Sumanth, Azhar Bilakhia, Monish Mishra.
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