Chennai's Clinical Performance Made The Difference

It was saddening to see your favorite team lose yet again last evening at East London. Well, what won in the end was Cricket. Everyone expected CSK to get back among the top four since they are too good to not to make the cut. Now they suddenly find themselves on the top the league and in my opinion deserve to be there. This will make a huge difference to the confidence and moral of the team. The chances are that they would remain there and end up among the top 2.

The Chargers had a good outing early on but for some reasons, only known to Gilly and Co, have lost the momentum in the middle of the tournament. Three defeats in a row could rattle the plans going forward. What they lacked last evening was application of cricketing techniques. Someone should have anchored himself and carried the bat through. Between Gilly and Hershe they need to agree that if one of them fall then the other needs to alter his game from the next ball. T20 is about changing strategy every ball and not changing stratey during the ill fated strategic time outs. Last evening there was no need for the strategic time out break- Chargers were looking down the barrel in any case.

Super Kings have had good three wins and these coming against the best teams can only give them that extra momentum needed in their favor. To see CSK Captain Super Cool finally brush luck with his bat has set them on the roll. Suddenly, the Chargers who appeared favorities in the early part of the season look challenged. If their run of poor outing continue, they would be left themselves to blame. Not much can be done when Gilly, Hershe and Lax get out on a duck! On paper Chargers appear to bat deep, but it is in these challenging conditions that one needs to apply strategy. Chargers were no way near to their minimal. Conceeding 160+ was in itself a recipe for loss. Above all, the team that was on the the top of the table prior to this game couldnt play out the 20 overs. They were routed in less than 15 overs! That is poor showing and deserves serious introspection.

There are more fan following for the Chargers than last season, including some overseas fans like my friends in South Africa. Thus it is important that they do their fans proud and re-group as quickly as possible. In these times, the best motivator is "self-belief". They need to talk between themselves and re-assure that they can still make a difference. Look back and see what they did right in the first four games and there lies the winning formula.

All said and done, few rain affected games and few teams that faced unexpected defeats in the middle of the tournament has only made the season all the more exciting. Few more shock wins and defeats can make it a close call for the semi final spots. Teams must watch out and closely keep the net run rate in their minds when setting and chasing targets. It (run rate) is certain to make the difference when it comes to doing the math and deciding the final four.