CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings would look to build on the momentum they gained from their creditable victory over Delhi Capitals
in their previous match when they take on winless Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram stadium here on Tuesday.
One of the heroes of the win, Jamie Overton, witnessed the loyal CSK fans rally behind him as he took four wickets on Saturday. "Yeah, it's great to have the love and support of the crowd. The Chepauk is a fabulous place to come and play and the support we get is phenomenal. It's great to play in front of them and it's nice to finally get a win this season for them," said an elated Overton ahead of the KKR match.
While CSK batting looks settled with the return of Dewald Brevis, concerns remain over the bowling attack's ability to take wickets and deliver, especially in middle-overs. "No specific plan, I think it's just trying to be adaptable to the conditions that suit us. Obviously a lot of guys will bowl spin throughout the middle overs, but I think with us, especially if we're playing on a red soil wicket here like the last game, the seamers can be really effective in the middle. So it's just trying to be adapted to what conditions suit us and try and make it as hard as we can for the batters. I think we have a plan of trying to reduce the amount of boundaries in the middle part," revealed Overton.
"I think bowling, that's my natural sort of stuff to do is try and hit the wicket hard. I think in the past I've been a little bit short at times and I've just sort of realised it's all worked out, what sort of lengths work in India. I'm trying to bowl out a little bit fuller to bring the batsmen forward. The wickets are so good nowadays, people are using the pace and hitting the mark square and stuff, so I'm trying to make the guys hit it down the ground a bit more. I'm just trying to stick with that process really," Overton added.
KKR, on the other hand, are desperate for success. The three-time IPL champions are yet to get their combination right. They have been plagued by injuries and dip in form of key players. Varun Chakravarthy who injured his left-hand is recovering. "Varun's been training, he's had a bandage on his hand but he's still training, he's been training for all the days leading up to this thing (Chennai game), so he's good," said the media manager of KKR.
At one point CSK were in a similar position as that of KKR. But the key players of CSK performed against Delhi and got back to winning ways. KKR will want to do the same on Tuesday. "I think we are mentally prepared for every challenge, every game, I think like I said before, anyone can win on their day, so we bring our best preparation coming here, and hopefully like I said, we can get our first win and get our tournament underway," Finn Allen said on Monday