"Champion of Champions" Chennai Super Kings

[sivank]

siva, you can compare very easily csk with barcelona. Really low key but functions as a unit

[kid-glove]

Barca low key? They're arrogant bunch of whingers, cheats and lack of fair play. Their brand of football is superb however!

Can't think of any football team (past or present) That could be compared to CSK, tbh!

Anyway,

Madurai veeran dhanE for Dhoni compilation

[sivank]

Hi Kg,

ofcourse what u say is correct. I just meant in the sense that comparing with other very successful teams they are maintaining a low key profile. you don´t hear any sort of scandal about their players etc.

[kid-glove]

Hi Kg,

ofcourse what u say is correct. I just meant in the sense that comparing with other very successful teams they are maintaining a low key profile. you don´t hear any sort of scandal about their players etc.

Barca's scandals go under the radar because whatever Pro- is Sport/El Mundo Catalan media manifested, and all anti- is put down to Madridista led Marca. How they manage to get a player sent off in CL every year (be it Chelsea, Inter or Arsenal) by exaggerated dives/constant pressure on referee, or the recent drug scandal (needs closer inspection seeing Pep Guariola's own past, their club doctor's past, their superhuman high energy levels, & lot of barca players's past too) are all said to be 'conspiracy theories' from Madrid camp

[kid-glove]

IF there's any team in recent past that I'd compare CSK to, it'd be Dortmund 97. Sammer madhiri Dhoni-nu solrEn naan! Besides beating Zidane's Juve (much like Sachin's MI ). Fair play (compared to any other teams that have won CL.) Low key persona. Low key coach in Hitzfeld (much like Fleming). Etc etc

[kid-glove]

And of course, there's also yellow jersey

[ajithfederer]

[ajaybaskar]

Dhoni’s Super Kings Set for More Glory

The fourth season of the Indian Premier League starts this evening when Chennai Super Kings hosts Kolkata Knight Riders. The heroes of India’s World Cup final win, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, find themselves on opposing teams as two of this year’s strongest franchises look to get early bragging rights.

Chennai Super Kings, last year’s champions, could become the first team to retain the title thanks to a strong batting lineup and improved bowling attack after adding Nuwan Kulasekara and Tim Southee, the New Zealander who had a great World Cup, ending as 12th man in the ICC’s team of the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders spent big at the IPL auction in Bangalore, securing the services of new captain Gambhir for a record sum of $2.4 million. Gambhir wasn’t particularly inspiring for the Delhi Daredevils last year but he has some good support in this new-look side, which no longer features local boy Sourav Ganguly, who is affectionately known as Dada (big brother). But the team is still brimming with batting talent such as Eoin Morgan, Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate, the first Dutchman to play in the IPL, and big hitter Yusuf Pathan.

Chennai has maintained a similar-look team to last year, while Kolkata has opted for wholesale changes. All eyes will be on Dhoni and it will be interesting to see how popular Chennai becomes now that the Indian captain has brought the India glory at the World Cup.

When it comes to popular players, nobody is more adored than Sachin Tendulkar. Watching the IPL last year in Delhi, it was striking that local fans in the Indian capital were actually rooting for the Mumbai Indians in a match against Delhi Daredevils, simply because they wanted to support Tendulkar.

The Little Master is captain of the Mumbai Indians, another strong team that has retained a nucleus of players from last year’s run to the final. Kieron Pollard is fun to watch when he’s in the mood, while Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh are top bowlers that will trouble opposing batsmen. The subplot in this team is the addition of Andrew Symonds, who had a high profile falling out with Harbhajan Singh in 2008. The two men will have to resolve their differences or else the Mumbai Indians’ dressing room could become even more argumentative than the comments section on YouTube.

Virender Sehwag leads the Delhi Daredevils this year, but he looks like a bit of a lone wolf in what is one of the weaker squads. Delhi does have Irfan Pathan, however, as well as South African bowler Morne Morkel, so the team is capable of upsets but its chances of winning the trophy are remote.

Rajasthan Royals, along with Kings Punjab XI, ended up in court last year and narrowly avoided expulsion from the IPL. Even with a watered down auction budget, the Royals managed to secure Rahul Dravid and the 2008 champions could rally from last year’s troubles, particularly with someone as gutsy and competitive as Shane Warne at the helm. There’s a strong antipodean-flavor in this squad, with Shaun Tait and Shane Watson, as well as New Zealand stars Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram.

Kings Punjab XI is led by another Australian legend, Adam Gilchrist, but the squad has been weakened by the withdrawal of two injured English players (as if there weren’t too few in the IPL already), Stuart Broad and Dimitri Mascarenhas. A pair of good Indian bowlers – Piyush Chawla and Praveen Kumar – add some bite, but this team is unlikely to challenge for honors.

Royal Challengers Bangalore contains Indian stars Virat Kohli and Zaheer Khan, the joint top wicket-taker at the World Cup, as well as that tournament’s top run scorer, Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan. Daniel Vettori is a good captain and the team also has South African wicket-keeper batsman A.B. de Villiers, who is one of the best players in the world, though he is carrying a niggling injury.

Deccan Chargers won in 2009 and got to the semifinals in 2010. The team, which looks like one of the strongest, will be led by Kumar Sangakkara, who performed wonders for Sri Lanka at the World Cup. Other international stars include South Africa’s J.P. Duminy and Dale Steyn, as well as England’s Michael Lumb who was a late pick at the auction. Lumb – an opening batsman – didn’t feature for England in the World Cup but he was a key player in the country’s march to T20 glory in the West Indies last year and is worth watching.

The two new teams will be eager to make a mark on the IPL and Yuvraj Singh, in particular, will be interesting to watch. Will he maintain the momentum in form that earned him the “Man of the Tournament” award at the World Cup? He captains Pune Warriors, and should get good tactical support from South Africa’s Graeme Smith. If Pune has success it could prompt a massive party with the fun-loving Yuvraj and Jesse Ryder in the team.

If too much alcohol is involved they’ll struggle to say this – Kochi Tuskers Kerala. This other new team is captained by Mahela Jayawardene, the World Cup final century-maker, who will be joined by countryman Muttiah Muralitharan as well as Indian stars like V.V.S. Laxman and S. Sreesanth. On paper, Pune Warriors looks the stronger of the two new teams, just.

Every team has its international stars, which is one of the key ingredients for the IPL’s success. Some of the biggest names of all will be playing tonight for Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, two of the strongest teams on paper. It wouldn’t be surprising to see these two facing each other again in the final in Chennai on May 28, and who would bet against a certain M.S. Dhoni hitting the winning runs for his team once again?

[sathya_1979]

Sennai Batting

[lawmani]

Power lyrics!

Yeh Hamara Area, Andar Nahi Aana!