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Last Year's Ranking:2
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Coach: Stephen Fleming
IPL 2008 Record: M-16, W-9, L-7.
Team Form:
A cool head and the success to back up his skill, Dhoni is the captain any team would want. With Flintoff and Hayden at his availability, Chennai is definately one of the favourites to win this year's IPL,
Team News:
Mike Hussey will not play till the semi-finals, citing physical exhaustion.
South African Albie Morkel may not start as he played last night's match against
Looking Back:
The Chennai outfit began the last edition with four straight wins, with much of that initial success due to solid batting performances from Hayden and Hussey.
The Australians were available for only the first four matches - and once they returned home for national duty, the team's performance fell drastically.
However, Dhoni's Midas touch as captain never deserted him. Lusty batting from Suresh Raina and Parthiv Patel helped the Super Kings romp into the final, where they proved second-best against the Rajasthan Royals.
The Chennai team's preference for all-rounders saw them snare Andrew Flintoff at the auction in
The Super Kings will be without the services of Hussey, and
Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan will also play a key role while contributing towards the team. But with the now-retired Hayden available for the entire season and South African Albie Morkel in prime form, the team cannot be written off.
Player To Watch: Andrew Flintoff
Probable Team Line-Up:
Matthew Hayden
Parthiv Patel
Murli Vijay
S Badrinath
Suresh Raina
Andrew Flintoff
MS Dhoni
Albie Morkel
Manpreet Goni
L Balaji
M Murlitharan
Last Year's Ranking:5
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Coach: Pravin Amre
IPL 2008 Record: M-14, W-7, L-7.
Team Form:
Zaheer's form has been a suitable conclusion to the argument that he is currently the best pace-bowler in the world. JP Duminy, the South African batting sensation, will also add fire power to an already star studded Indian batting line up.this
Team News:
JP Duminy may not start because of a late night match against
Looking Back:
Tendulkar's tournament was blighted by injury last time around, which left Jayasuriya - the oldest player in the side - playing a lone hand.
Mumbai started last year’s campaign on a poor note with 4 defeats on the trot. Under Shaun Pollock, the team enacted a revival of sorts, winning 6 games in a row then on; a feat not achieved by any other team in the IPL. Unfortunately it was not enough to make it to the semi-finals.
Last year Mumbai were also not sharp in their squad selection in the auction. But this time they signed up SA sensation Jean-Paul Duminy at the
Mumbai were also the only active team in the Transfer Window. They swapped Robin Uthappa with Zaheer Khan from RCB who is a handy acquisition - given the left-arm seamer's roaring form. They also swapped Ashish Nehra with Shikhar Dhawan from
The Reliance Industries-backed team has also roped in Kiwi bowler Kyle Mills and
Pollock takes over as coach-cum-mentor this season, while Jonty Rhodes assists with the fielding technicalities.
The Mumbai Indians are also best prepared for South African conditions, with as many as 10 of the players training there for almost a month before the start of the tournament
Player To Watch : Sanath “Suriya” Jayasuriya
Probable Team Line-up:
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sachin Tendulkar
Shikar Dhawan
JP Duminy
Dwayne Bravo
Abhishek Nayar
Yogesh Takawale
Dhawal Kulkarni
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Lasith Malinga
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