MUMBAI: ON an unusually sluggish Wankhede wicket, the hosts defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad comprehensively to register their second straight win on Thursday. Similarly, Chennai Super Kings snapped their five-match losing streak as they beat Lucknow Super Giants at their home in Lucknow a few days ago to take some baby steps towards resurrecting their campaign.
Both teams will be up against each other in Mumbai on Sunday in what will be a contest between two five-time champions. Both sides are languishing near the foot of the table but Hardik Pandya and Co are slightly better placed at the moment with three wins from seven matches. The MS Dhoni-led side is currently the last and need to win the next match to brighten their chances of advancing.
Their head coach Stephen Fleming admitted the team is in a precarious position and will not hesitate in giving chances to youngsters ahead of the experienced campaigners if the next couple of matches don't go their way. “It's a delicate phase isn't it? We are still in the competition but we are hanging on by the thread, trying to find a balance between giving the guys an extended run to show some form and also, wanting to get results,” Fleming told the media on the eve of the match.
“Unfortunately, the position we find ourselves in, we have run out of time to be too patient. On the other hand, we don't want to keep chopping and changing, trying to find the magic formula, quite possibly our tournament has been that far. We've got eyes on the season, but we've also got a little bit of a look forward, making sure that we are developing players for the future and that might be the second half of the season, if it doesn't go well over the next couple of games,” he said.
Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre recently joined CSK as a replacement for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mhatre has played nine first class and seven List A games for Mumbai so far scoring heavily. Besides him, the Chennai-based franchise has youngsters like Ramakrishna Ghosh and Shaik Rasheed, who impressed on his debut during CSK's previous game against LSG.
“We've got a few, actually. (Ramakrishna) Ghosh is one. He is an all-rounder. I think he has got a nice future. Ayush (Mhatre) has just joined us. He was impressive in trials, but he's really young in terms of experience. Shaik Rasheed's been with us for a while. There are a number of other guys who have played quite a bit. They're all good players, and it's just where they will fit in at the moment. Probably the batting is the weakest side of it, so batting is getting the focus. But we've got a nice crop of seam bowlers as well who are doing well. We've seen Mukesh Chowdhury come in. “(Anshul) Kamboj has now got that spot. We're actually really happy with the squad. It's just how we're performing and where we can get more out of it,” he said.
Chennai defeated Mumbai in the opener to start the season on a positive note and will be hoping for an encore when they take the field on Sunday evening.