India skipper Ajinkya Rahane said it was difficult to hold nerves when Zimbabwe looked like pulling away when home skipper Elton Chigumbura was batting solid from one end in the first ODI of the three-match series in Harare.
It will be a big statement if Virat Kohli's young side could start off with a bang at Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 'spritual home', a task which will be easier said than done.
Scroll down for images from the training session held on Wednesday.
The 23 year old plundered bowlers, over after over, getting the fours, sixes and the singles and twos at will.
Check out the Mumbai Indians squad for the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be hoping for a memorable farewell but he faces a major roadblock in the form of Gujarat Titans' run machine Shubman Gill.
Kedar Jadhav's stroke-filled 91 was the cornerstone of a collective batting performance by India A as they comfortably beat Vijay Hazare Trophy champions Gujarat by six wickets to enter the final of the Deodhar Trophy one day cricket tournament on Wednesday in Kanpur. India A will meet India B in the final Thursday. Batting first, Gujarat managed a decent 272 in 49.2 overs, riding on skipper Parthiv Patel's second List A century. Parthiv scored 119 off 125 balls with 16 boundaries. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra grabbed 3/48 in 9.2 overs, while off-spinner Parvez Rasool had equally impressive figures of 3/47 from nine overs.
CSK remain sentimental favourite of the fans, primarily because of the man at the helm.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
CSK have better resources but they must utilise them to the hilt. Teams:
'It's still a bit nerve-wracking when you're bowling at M S Dhoni, and there's not one red shirt in the crowd, only yellow shirts chanting his name.'
Chennai Super Kings skipper Ravindra Jadeja on Monday blamed his inept batting line-up for their poor showing in IPL 2022, saying the inability to score runs in the first six overs was hurting the team.
Jasprit Bumrah's death-overs mastery in Sunday's Indian Premier League final has convinced batting great Sachin Tendulkar that the 25-year-old with an unorthodox action is currently the best bowler in world cricket.
CSK has been aiming for 200-plus strike rates on good batting surfaces to put up imposing totals, said opener Devon Conway.
Chennai Super Kings' practice sessions was suspended in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the IPL franchise announced on Friday. The three-time IPL champions had commenced training from March 2 at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu getting down to work.
Images from the Indian Premier League final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Dubai, on Friday.
Although CSK lost the important wickets of Dube, Rayudu and Jadeja in the middle overs and MI debutant Riley Meredith and Bumrah keeping a lid on the scoring in the 16th and 17th overs, it was the crucial 33 run partnership between Pretorius and Dhoni that eventually sealed the deal with a last ball four off the bat of hero MSD!
Ambati Rayudu said that he has no regrets about his "3d" jibe at chairman of selectors MSK Prasad after being dropped from the World Cup squad.
Dhoni's men will be slight favourites as it will be Bairstow's last game
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday.
Ambati Rayudu, after a good Asia Cup performance, will retain his place even if Kohli decides to play.
The Indian squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed for New Zealand from Mumbai on Sunday for a five-match ODI series followed by a best-of-two Test rubber against the hosts.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
Young Rishabh Pant's competition for the second wicketkeeper's slot with veteran Dinesh Karthik will be the highlight of the discussion.
India are once again at the crossroads, with the team again searching for middle order options ahead of the World Cup.
Images from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, in Dubai, on Sunday.
Surprised by the amount of turn his spinners managed to extract from the pitch in the third ODI win against England, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said they will have to work on delivering similar performances on tracks which may not be as helpful.
Former India batsman Ambati Rayudu also reached Chennai on Wednesday while the Tamil Nadu players in the squad will join later.
The talented Punjab youngster Gurkeerat Singh Mann was selected for the upcoming One-day International series against South Africa.
The Curran-Rayudu partnership for the third wicket put the brakes on the CSK innings in the middle overs, as they could add just 27 runs from 26 balls before both fell in quick succession.
CSK would be looking to continue the momentum.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has taken a dig at Chennai Super Kings' faltering IPL campaign, saying that some of their batsmen think of the franchise as a "government job" in which remuneration is assured irrespective of performance.
'In auction economics, it is very difficult to retain everybody. We were aware of it...we will lose somebody. We will also get somebody in their place. Now, we have to get the best out of what we have.'
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer was all praise for his team's "outstanding mindset" during its 54-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, in the IPL match in Mumbai on Saturday, saying his players had nothing to lose at this stage of the tournament.
PHOTOS of the IPL 2023 final between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.
The Mumbai Indians team for the Champions League T20, which kicks-off in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, September 10.
Capitals were the best team in the league and their 20-point finish at the group stage was an indication of their consistent performances which didn't dip due to the COVID-19 forced break. CSK, over the years, have been in final eight times and won on three occasions which speak volumes of the team's ability to lift their game just when it's required most.
Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Mumbai Indians to an astonishing four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Delhi on Saturday.
Photos of the IPL match between Hyderabad Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians.
The under-pressure Chennai Super Kings is set to miss Moeen Ali for a few more games due to an ankle injury but head coach Stephen Fleming is hopeful the England all-rounder can make a quick recovery in a week's time.
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