Mahendra Singh Dhoni will dig deep into his reserves to take on Indian cricket’s new ‘crown prince’ Shubman Gill
Published Date – Tue, 5/23/23 at 07:40am
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Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s shrewd tactician will dig deep into his reserves to take on Indian cricket’s new ‘crown prince’ Shubman Gill as the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings take on IPL Qualifier 1 meets current champions Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
Gill almost single-handedly defeated the star-studded Royal Challengers Bengaluru to leave a century behind, he has already eclipsed Kohli and will surely force one of India’s greatest captains to re-plan and set up for him making plans. Gill is in the midst of a fantasy season and it remains to be seen what tactics Dhoni will employ to stop the dashing “Mohali Marauder”.
This season, the Gujarat Titans have not played in Chepauk, who have been nothing special in CSK’s seven home games, prompting head coach Stephen Fleming to worry about what to expect. What makes this fight even more interesting is that GT is the team that seems to be closest to the prototype CSK has had in the IPL over the years.
A solid management and administrative team stayed behind the scenes and never interfered in the affairs of cricket, which was left to the trio of Ashish Nehra, Gary Kirsten and Vikram Solanki. A captain who swears his understanding of leadership is cut from Dhoni’s “captain’s cloth”, and head coach Nehra, like his former team-mates, doesn’t believe too much even if a few games go wrong. Change.
They don’t pick players based on their auction value – remember, CSK bought Krishnappa Gowtham for almost Rs 10 crore and he only got one game because he didn’t fit the mix. Likewise, GT has included incumbent Indian T20 pacer Shivam Mavi for a whopping Rs 6 crore, but the team management prefers veteran Mohit Sharma, who has excelled in executing slower deliveries.
It all depends on who fits what role. So when two teams with similar philosophies take on each other, it becomes more interesting. Those teams that don’t make hard-to-keep long-term commitments, but instead focus on the immediate process and understand the role of the player needed for the slot.
It will be a challenge for Gujarat to address the slowness of the Chepak track, and how well they negotiate at the back end with Deepak Chahar’s strong attack and Matheesha Pathirana’s thrower will decide the outcome of the match.
Here, Pandya and Nehra will find Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka’s input handy as he has handled Pathirana and fine-tuned Maheesh Theekshana for the national team. While Shanaka may be used more as an all-rounder, the throw-reliant Titans could also try left-arm turntable R Sai Kishore who knows these conditions well.
Irishman Joshua Little is likely to replace Shanaka and Sai Kishore in the XI in place of Yash Dayal, who has yet to regain confidence after his compatriot Rinku Singh hit him with five sixes.
For CSK, the good start of the talented duo of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad is very important. But at Chepauk, even Ajinkya Rahane could be a factor, while Shivam Dube is keen to add to his 33 sixes this season. Conway and Gaikwad gave CSK a brisk and substantial start, with the middle order not quite getting off to a good start.
Things have not been easy for the home side’s batsmen, including Conway and Gaikwad, in GT bowling led by Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan (24 wickets each so far). How CSK’s opening duo deal with the relentless Shami could prove crucial, as will it be important for underperforming mid-level players to step up in tight games.
Chepauk’s pitches have been a bit choppy so far, with some being slow in nature and others hitting the ball well. CSK manager Fleming had a lot to say after the win over Delhi Capitals, claiming the team was uncertain about the (home) situation. If a sluggish field is rolled out for the game, the spinners of both teams will make a big difference. If CSK has Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Theekshana, Titans have a lineup that includes Rashid and Noor Ahmad.
