CHENNAI : Plagued by the spot fixing scandal and the subsequent legal wranglings, two time winners and strong contenders Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would be keen to put behind these off the field happenings, as they make a fresh beginning in a bid to lay their hands on the coveted title for the third time. The CSK would be heavily banking on the home advantage as they take on Delhi Dare Devils in their first match of the eight edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M A Chidambaram stadium here tomorrow. One of the most consistent teams on view in all the previous editions, CSK led by ‘captain cool’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be firing on all cylinders to garner full points in their first home match. The teams appears more formidable with the Kiwi Brendon McCullum, who had a fairytale run in the just concluded World cup leading New Zealand to their first ever final, and Dwayne Smith were capable of tearing apart any attack. The presence of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin and new imports Irfan Pathan, Michael Hussey and Kyle Abott adds more strength along with speedsters Bravo and Mohit sharma. The new look Daredevils team would have to come up big to upset the applecart of the CSK, who were quite formidable both in home and away matches. However, much would depend on the form of the flamboyant Yuvraj singh, who was the prize catch in the IPL auction for a whopping Rs 16 crores along with left arm seamer Zaheer Khan. Led by South African J P Duminy, the team, which finished as the woodden spoonists in the last edition, would be making a fresh beginning to its campaign. The team has a few good names like Quinton de Kock, Mayank Agarwal, Kedar Jadhav and Albie Morkel, with Mohammed Shami, who finished in the top five in the list of highest wicket takers in the World Cup, and the classy leggie Imran Tahir, who too had a decent run. The response to the ticket sales was very good and the three ‘controversial stands’, which was asked to be demolished by the supreme court as it was constructed without permission. would be sealed for the entire tournament. Except for the three empty stands, a full house was expected for the match, which was expected to showcase the batting prowess of the CSK. (AGENCIES)
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