Former champions Chennai Super Kings begin their CLT20 2013 campaign against the Titans, last season’s semi-finalists, in a Group B game at the JSCA International Stadium Complex here on Sunday.
While Australia’s Big Bash champions Brisbane Heat and West Indies T20 winners Trinidad & Tobago will square off in the afternoon game, it is the second match of the day that will draw the fans to the stadium as local boy and CSK skipper M.S. Dhoni, coming back after a well deserved break, will take the field for the men in yellow.
Dhoni captained India in a one-dayer against England here in January but fans were deprived of his power-hitting as the bowlers set up the match for the hosts. All that the fans could savour was the winning boundary from the bat of the 32-year-old. This time though, his supporters cans expect the helicopters from Dhoni’s blade to fly around, given the slam-bang format of T20.
The weather and an auto strike here in the state capital, however, is conspiring to play spoiler even though the state association seemed to be actively promoting the games scheduled here, with billboards of officials staring at you almost everywhere. The teams, though, seem to be concentrating on the controllables.
“The weather is something we cannot control and do not have a hold on. We, as a team, are just focusing on what we are set to do on the field. We will be focusing on our basics and our strengths and go and enjoy the game,” skipper of the South Africa’s domestic T20 runners-up Henry Davids said on Friday.
For CSK, the heartbreak of losing the IPL final to Mumbai Indians under the cloud of the spot-fixing and betting controversy, may pep them up to do well. Besides, this is also the last tournament for the players, many of whom have been with them since the inception of the IPL, to play together before they all go in the auction pool next season. The likes of Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jajeda and Michael Hussey — all Dhoni’s trusted lieutenants — will thus be keen to begin well, given the fact that two losses in the opening encounters last season in South Africa seriously dented their semi-finals chances. The Titans boast of a limited star cast as compared to their rivals in young pacer Marchant de Lange, Morne Morkel and the dangerous AB de Villiers but the format is known to throw up new stars in a matter of three hours.
The first match between T&T and Brisbane Heat pits two teams without some well known stars, who chose to play for their IPL franchise instead in the championship. So, T&T will miss the services of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Kevon Cooper, who will represent Mumbai Indians, CSK and Rajasthan Royals respectively.