The stars seem to foretell another Chennai triumph
The sea of yellow at Chepauk on Sunday will be further testimony to the awesome reputation Chennai Super Kings are gathering as a team. Soon, they may be in the class of the Boston Celtics (17 NBA titles), Manchester United (12 EPL championships) and the big daddy among clubs, Real Madrid (32 La Liga trophies). Cup finals or premiership nerves are never in the reckoning when it comes to the great clubs of the professional world of sport.
The Kings will walk jauntily into the final, their fourth in five seasons, and third in succession, their latest entry being made particularly memorable by the fact they were hanging on the edge of the precipice while three teams — Royals, Kings XI and Royal Challengers — blew their chances in the preliminary league. And then it was the turn of Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils to be thrust aside from the path to the final.
As a spectacle, willow power has nothing to match it in cricket even if a great spell by a Dale Steyn or a Morne Morkel could provide the counterpoint occasionally in the batsman’s paradise of T20 cricket. CSK have that power to bludgeon opponents into submission, which is only enhanced when Murali Vijay, as confused a young man as we could see at the crease in early season, came to the party at just the perfect time.
The stars seem to foretell another CSK triumph, as the believers at Astroved informed us long before the first ball was bowled in the semi-final or second eliminator or call it what you will. Incantations at yagas being held to spur a CSK win will be reverberating somewhere as Dhoni goes out to the toss on Sunday.
Having twice been gifted first use of the crease — which is a bit like inviting hungry lions to a wild life jamboree — Dhoni might toss the coin at the perfect angle and take strike by right on the big occasion.
The so-called instinctive captains, Sehwag and Harbhajan, have fallen by the wayside leaving only Gautam Gambhir and his Kolkata Knight Riders as the final obstacle to the free swinging willows of the Super Kings. Why those two cricketers chose to give first chance to opposing batsmen to take the game away will remain a mystery. Gambhir is an astute tactician who may prove a stiffer challenge.
The firepower of CSK may seem an inexorable force but any captain would like to have his runs on the board to see how the chasers fare in a cup final. If the luck of the toss does not favour KKR, it’s on the cards that CSK could run away to an imposing total.
All roads will lead to the stadium by the sea on Sunday as Dhoni’s men strive for the hat trick that will straightaway give them a shot at immortality in a league that at 5 is relatively young. May the best team win is one of sport’s clichétic wishes that is repeated ad nauseam on the eve of a final.
Apparently, the stars have already predicted the outcome with even cynical bookies dropping the price on the favourite. Will KKR’s bowlers stop the juggernaut?
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