The most consistent team in Indian Twenty20 history against the team sitting on the biggest winning streak in Indian cricket. It’s a classic matchup, the kind promoters dream of. The non-availability of the most influential Twenty20 bowler in the world offers a fascinating and potentially decisive subplot as the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 2014 winds to a close.
Chennai Super Kings, nurtured and moulded by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, are a most dynamic and formidable Twenty20 outfit, a team of several individuals capable of winning matches on their own, as they have displayed over the last two weeks. Kolkata Knight Riders, laggards in the Indian Premier League until Gautam Gambhir arrived with intensity and purpose three years back to comprehensively reverse their fortunes, don’t suffer in comparision. But when the teams square off in the title clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Bangalore on Saturday (October 4) night, there will be no Sunil Narine, the spinner whose mystery remains uncracked in Twenty20 cricket even after so many years.
To say that Narine has been a strong driving force behind Kolkata’s rejuvenation will be stating the obvious. Narine has provided Gambhir with the confidence and assurance that Lasith Malinga once did for Sri Lanka and Mumbai Indians. Parsimonious and penetrative, Narine’s presence did wonders for Kolkata’s morale just as it forced opponents to target the other Kolkata bowlers – several of them match-winners in their own right. How quickly Kolkata recover from the psychological and tactical setback brought about by Narine’s absence after being reported for a suspect action for the second time in the tournament on Thursday will determine whether the defending IPL champions complete the IPL-CLT20 double, or whether Chennai translate their consistency into their first title since IPL 2011.
Kolkata will also have to make the quick adjustment from having played all five matches in the competition at their adopted home in Hyderabad to playing at a venue that Chennai can claim to be their home in this competition. Gambhir’s team was undefeated at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal – including the main draw opener against Chennai – to extend its winning run in Twenty20 cricket to a record 14 matches. Having got used to Hyderabad, they play the most important match of the competition at a different venue, though they will take heart from the fact that it was here that they emerged champions in the final of IPL-7 some four months back.
Kolkata have based their campaign around the explosiveness in their batting bolstered by the solidity of Jacques Kallis, and the versatility of their spin resources with Narine, unsurprisingly, in the forefront. It’s a tack that worked wonderfully well in Hyderabad; the Chinnaswamy traditionally has thrown up better batting surfaces and Kolkata will therefore have to revisit their strategies, particularly with Narine missing.
In Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and R Vinay Kumar – who hasn’t yet played in this competition – Kolkata have personnel with extensive knowledge of the challenges at the Chinnaswamy. A smallish ground, a lightning quick outfield and generally excellent tracks for batting will normally translate into a run-fest, but with the threat of rain hanging overhead, it will be unwise to take anything for granted.
Until a couple of seasons back, it was taken for granted that when push came to shove, Chennai would be the last team standing. That has changed somewhat – which explains the three-year title drought – but Chennai continue to remain the team to beat.
Chennai took the tricky path to the semifinals – they had to rely on Perth Scorchers to put Lahore Lions out of contention – but the ruthlessness with which they destroyed Kings XI Punjab in the last-four clash on Thursday suggests that the pieces have now fallen in place perfectly. They have the most dynamic and deep batting line-up; despite Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina and Dhoni all falling for less than 15, they amassed 182 against Punjab. Like Kolkata, they also rely heavily on their spinners. In many ways, it is a clash of teams with similar styles and approaches but Narine’s absence means the scales are tilted slightly in Chennai’s favour.
Narine, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, had finished with 1 for 9 from his four overs when the teams faced off in Hyderabad last month. Even so, Chennai had made 157 for 4, and looked on course for a winning start until an extraordinary innings from Andre Russell stopped them in their tracks. Just how much damage their batting line-up can inflict on a Narine-less attack remains to be seen, though history suggests that no side is better equipped to feed on the soft underbelly of the opposition than Chennai.
The Chinnaswamy is guaranteed to be bursting at the seams come Saturday. The popular support will be for Chennai, but Kolkata will have their own dedicated fan base and the backing of the neutral in the wake of Narine’s unavailability. It promises to be one big party – provided the weather holds, of course.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Pawan Negi, R Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, John Hastings, Mithun Manhas, Ishwar Pandey, Samuel Badree.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Robin Uthappa (wk), Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Manvinder Bisla.
