It is all or nothing for the mighty Chennai Super Kings, when they take the field on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore to play their final Group A fixture in the Champions League T20 tournament, against the Perth Scorchers.
On Thursday, the Super Kings found themselves frustrated by the weather in Bangalore, when they were scheduled to play the winless qualifiers, the Lahore Lions.
However, although the players were able to get out on to the field and do some warming up, the rain that had been around in the lead up to the game returned, and was persistent enough to cause the game to be abandoned before the toss had even taken place, with large puddles across the outfield.
The two points that the Lions picked up from the abandonment maintains their interest in the competition, although if the Scorchers win the late game on Saturday, then the outcome of Lahore’s last two matches is likely to be of little consequence.
Super Kings went second behind their Indian rivals Kolkata Knight Riders, who have already qualified for the semi-finals, on six points.
If the Super Kings fail to beat the Scorchers on Saturday, they will be eliminated from the tournament, making the Perth based side the favourites to take the second semi-final spot from Group A.
However, if Chennai do take the four points, they will eliminate their Australian opponents, with only the Lahore Lions able to deny them a place in the knockout phase. Even then the Lions would need to post two thumping victories in order to make up the difference in the overall run rate.
Both sides have lost to the Knight Riders already, and both could, and maybe should have won those fixtures. Saturday’s contest promises to be one of the matches of the tournament thus far.