Central Districts will play the Chennai Super Kings in the third game of the Champions League T20, that will be played at the Kingsmead in Durban. This is a Group A encounter and will follow the match between Wayamba and Warriors at the Port Elizabeth.
The Central Districts are being led by Jamie How. However, what will hit the side hard is the fact that two of their main guys are out of the tournament for the team. Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor were supposed to carry the side’s hopes in the tournament. Instead, Oram will not be a part of the tournament due to an injury, whereas Taylor is busy turning up for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
This would have hit the Central Districts really hard and they would want to overcome the issue by having the likes of How, Peter Ingram and Mathew Sinclair try and come to the rescue. What will further worry the Central side is the lack of any good, match-winning bowlers. The best they have come up with is Michael Mason, and it remains to be seen how he goes about his business.
As compared to that, the Chennai Super Kings have no such worries. They are being led by MS Dhoni, who has had the most consistent IPLs as the captain. In the first edition he led them to the finals of the tournament, and after that, the side has been a semi-finalists and a winner on the ensuing two occasions. In essence, Chennai is the only side to enter the semi-finals of all three tournaments, and the finals of two of the three.
What makes the side strong is the batting line-up consisting of the likes of Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina and the captain himself. With Murali Vijay proving himself at the top as well, the side is not shorn of batting stars.
The introduction of Doug Bollinger as the bowling star will undoubtedly boost the side’s chances, given that it was his presence that had turned the 2010 IPL around for the Super Kings. He will be partnered by the likes of Sudeep Tyagi, Muthiah Muralitharan and R Ashwin, all of whom are good bowlers in their own right.
So, the Super Kings will start out as favourites in the match and how the Central Districts overcome them is a million-dollar question.
You can watch the Chennai-Central Districts match at Durban live on Star Cricket if you are from India.