Chennai are enjoying the fresh lease of life they've got and by the looks of it, they want to make the most of it. The message was made even clearer on Wednesday by the captain himself.
I have always cherished Dhoni's power-hitting and believe that he is dangerous in the shorter versions of the game.
The knock not only took his team to a commanding position, he also sent out a signal to the opponents that he means business in the knockout phase. One more signal also went out, that teams winning the toss in the next few games will bat first and not put Chennai in.
Better bowling
Chennai's bowling balance has been somewhat bettered with Hilfenhaus coming in. Along with Morkel, Bravo, Ashwin, Jadeja, Jakati and Raina, the skipper has lot of options. But Dhoni's worry has to be more with his batting department. Raina has not fired till now, Vijay, Badrinath and Hussey have been patchy and even the captain himself was struggling before the knock against Mumbai. So, Chennai will have to be on their guard against Delhi in the big match on Friday.
I did not like Delhi's game-plan against the KKR. It was a crucial toss to lose but what was Ross Taylor doing at No 8? Why was Delhi so loaded with fast bowlers when you had every opportunity to play an extra spinner in Van Der Merwe on the slow Pune wicket? Why didn't Viru bowl? I am sure the team management has gone back to the drawing board and asked themselves this question.
{{/usCountry}}I did not like Delhi's game-plan against the KKR. It was a crucial toss to lose but what was Ross Taylor doing at No 8? Why was Delhi so loaded with fast bowlers when you had every opportunity to play an extra spinner in Van Der Merwe on the slow Pune wicket? Why didn't Viru bowl? I am sure the team management has gone back to the drawing board and asked themselves this question.
{{/usCountry}}I hope they have a good look at the wicket on Friday. Against Delhi, Chennai will prefer to play on a slower wicket as that will suit their style of play. Viru's form will be important and he will need to fire at the top. Once Viru does that, it will lay a solid platform for the others to play around him and build a score or chase down a total.
It's a do-or-die situation for both the teams and the margin of error will be minimal as there is no tomorrow in this encounter. 360 Corporate Relations.
(The writer is Pune Warrior's captain)