Dhoni out of action !!!

Dhoni played one of his best knock's in T-20 cricket in the recent past. The partnership with Badri made sure that CSK reached a respectable score. Dhoni's innings was a gem, the way he pulled Bond for a flat six was the pinnacle. As a CSK supporter, i was tense watching the proceedings and after he got hit in the hand, i thought its all over but i think that ignited the old dhoni with those punishing hits to the fence.

CSK bowled brilliantly in the initial overs or i should say it was poor batting from KKR that led to their slide. O.A.Shah's wicket was a beauty from Balaji, he looks a bit more confident and also fit than the previous 2 seasons. Good for him and CSK. Kemp is real good addition to the side, his nagging slow bowling (poi bowling in tamil slang) adds variety to the attack.

On the whole, this win should have grouped the team well and the confidence should be high but for the big blow of dhoni being ruled out for the next 4 games. Dhoni out of action means, that parthiv is in and that does not really sound good, i would have loved to see Badani in action. Also i would have expected Badri to lead the side with all his experience in leading the India A side,SouthZone challenger sides etc but not sure from where did Raina emerge as a captain.. lets see how he performs as captain. Haydos is due for a big one and if badani replaces Vijay that will give options in the top and we will also get a extra bowling option. Vijay some how is struggling to force the pace and i fell he is best suited for the longer version of the game.


On the favourites for lifting the IPL-III, i feel MI is the best balanced side with the additions of Bravo and Pollard both are capable of big hitting and most importantly both are nagging slow bowlers best suited for T20. With the local talen in Rayudu and S.Tiwari playing some good knocks at importants stages of the game, i would say MI is the favourites. I am a great fan of Sachin like millions of cricket loving people around the world but i am not a fan of sachin's captaincy for obvious reasons, if he can pull this up and win the trophy for MI it will be great.