CSK look vulnerable ahead of Delhi battle: Harsha Bhogle
Both CSK and DC have booked a place in the playoffs but would want to stay in the top two at the end of the league stage to have two cracks at reaching the final. For CSK, it will bring an added advantage of a play-off game at home.
"In the last couple of weeks, the mighty CSK have started looking a bit vulnerable and the usual minnows, Delhi, are playing with a swagger," Bhogle wrote in his column.
As CSK sweat on the availability of Dhoni, they would also want to arrest the slide heading into the play-offs.
"It happens every year in the IPL. The nonchalance, even carelessness of the early games gives way to scrappiness as the playoffs beckon. Forget the points, suddenly the humble second decimal in the net run rate is courted. And a quiet voice in the interiors of a dressing room will wonder aloud if a little more urgency, a spoonful of ruthlessness, earlier on mightn’t have come in handy," Bhogle reckoned.
The remaining two playoff spots are expected to be fought between four team, as Royal Challengers Bangalore are knocked out and Rajasthan Royals' chances hang by a thread.
Among the contenders for the top-four play-offs bracket, Sunrisers Hyderabad look one of the certainties -- thanks to their healthy net run-rate -- if they manage to reach 14 points.
"If the Sunrisers are the frontrunners in the traffic jam that occupies the middle of the points table, it is because they demolished RCB in their third game by 118 runs. And then, in their ninth against KKR, they didn’t hang around while chasing 159 and got there in 15 overs. The pennies they saved then are their riches today," Bhogle added.
The expert-cum-commentator believed the match on Wednesday will be fought tooth and nail, with a high-scoring game benefiting Delhi and a low-scoring one likely to bring the hosts more in the game through their spinners.
"When they play each other, there is a loftier objective. For CSK in particular, a top-two finish allows them to partake of another display of emotion in Chennai. They play very well at home, especially if the chef can produce a nice, sticky pudding for that game," said Bhogle pointing at the slow, sticky nature of the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
"The higher the scores in that game, the more DC will fancy their chances, the lower the scores, the greater the emphasis on spin, the more CSK come into their own.
"It is nice for the IPL that both teams have their lead South African bowlers available till the end. (Kagiso) Rabada and (Imran) Tahir occupy different ends of the age and experience spectrum; but in their contrasting styles, they have been key players this year and could well decide which way this big game goes," he concluded.
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