Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has pointed out that six final appearances from the eight seasons speak of his side's consistency, and their loss to Mumbai Indians in the final of the Indian Premier League is not down to the mind.
The national selection committee, under Sandeep Patil, is likely to leave it to limited-overs' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to decide on his availability for the short tour of Zimbabwe, from June 11-20.
India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that "under favourable conditions", the hosts will be a "hard side to beat" in the ongoing World T20. India lost to New Zealand on a turner in the opening game but beat Pakistan easily in their next game on a similar surface. "I think, we are a very good team. On our day and unde conditions favourable for us, we are going to be a pretty hard side to beat," Ashwin told bcci.tv after the team's six wicket win over Pakistan. But as exception proves the rule, it can happen with 'Men In Blue' too. "There will be exceptions. We lost a recent game in Pune against Sri Lanka and another one in Nagpur against New Zealand. On both occasions, the opposition read the game better than us," said Ashwin. Ashwin, who is known to to be a thinking cricketer, said that even though there was much turn on offer at the Eden Gardens, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
The all-round ability of the current Indian cricket team excites former captain Rahul Dravid, who feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are a certainty for at least the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships. Dravid, who was here for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus' in his capacity as a member of its World Sports Academy, said India looks to be the most "formidable" team of the tournament, the main draw of which gets underway from March 15. "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. "I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good all-round depth at the moment," Dravid said. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
The clean sweep in the T20 series against Australia has lessened their dilemmas but selectors will debate.
Virat Kohli's elegant unbeaten 90 and some crafty bowling by their spinners secured India's comprehensive 37-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 International at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
India thrashed New Zealand by 53 runs to give veteran fast bowler Ashish Nehra a winning farewell, in the first Twenty20 International in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Skipper Virat Kohli had to once again come to the rescue of under-fire former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose painstaking 37 off 58 balls came in for sharp criticism after England beat India by 86 runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Saturday.
The indomitable Chennai Super Kings will have the advantage of familiarity with the conditions but the unbeaten Kolkata Knight Riders would still be a tough nut to crack when they clash in the Oppo Champions League T20 final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
Delhi Daredevils produced an all-round effort and defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to jump to the third spot in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement. In the bowlers' table, West Indies' Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.
Harbhajan Singh spoke about his journey and also the infamous 'Monkeygate'
Chennai Super Kings will look to avenge their first leg loss against Rajasthan Royals.
Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 24 runs in their Indian Premier League match at Chepauk.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would play a 'more prominent' role as a batsman in the upcoming Indian Premier League by batting 'relatively high' in the order.
'I did cry when I went out in the middle... I did cry. This was the only time I had happy tears... because that moment was just a priceless moment. That moment was something that you can only dream off'
Paceman Bhuvaneshwar Kumar followed up his team's superb collective batting effort with a four-wicket haul as India Blue lifted the NKP Salve Challenger Series Trophy with a convincing 50-run victory over Delhi in the final.
Central Zone upstaged star-studded North Zone by four runs in a close match to remain in the hunt for the title in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Inter Zonal League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Virender Sehwag's wretched run in domestic cricket continued as the veteran opener failed to open his account but Delhi did manage to comfortably beat Punjab by four wickets to notch up their maiden win in the North Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Virat Kohli slammed an unbeaten 90 before a collective effort by the Indian bowlers gave the visitors a resounding start in the Twenty20 series against Australia with a 37-run victory in the first match in Adelaide, on Tuesday.
Left disappointed after their Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 was washed off without a single ball being bowled against Lahore Lions, Chennai Super Kings would be looking to shut out Perth Scorchers on Saturday to book their last-four spot.
After a jittery start, Chennai Super Kings will look for a turnaround to get their campaign back on track when they take on South African team Nashua Dolphins in a Group A match of Champions League T20 in Bangalore on Monday.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj attributes his success to his good showing on the domestic circuit, the IPL and India 'A' team.
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
What does Tendulkar miss the most about not being an active player? "I miss the laughter, the seriousness, the celebrations."
Delhi team management's lack of communication with the establishment again came into the fore on Sunday when Feroze Shah Kotla curator Venkat Sundaram accused skipper Gautam Gambhir of "interfering into his job" ahead of their Ranji Trophy final group league encounter against Karnataka on Monday.
Young all-rounder Pawan Negi was the surprise inclusion in India's squad for the World Twenty20 and Asia Cup even as the selectors reposed faith in old warhorses Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for the two tournaments.
India's bowling woes dominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni's assessment of the ODI debacle.
India sealed a semi-final berth in the World Twenty20 after defeating Australia by six wickets in a do-or-die Group 2 match in Mohali.
David Warner slammed a whirlwind 50-ball 92 to set up a comfortable 15-run win for Sunrisers Hyderabad over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs in their opening match of the Indian Premier League.
Stung by a batting debacle, Royal Challengers Bangalore have the onerous task of picking up pieces when they face defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, with a singular aim of keeping their hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
It will be a battle of youngsters with the likes of Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya on one side and the new star in the horizon Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan with his variations on the other side.
Young Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan's fairytale run continued as his three-wicket burst helped Sunrisers Hyderabad restrict Gujarat Lions to a paltry 135 for seven.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the Chennai Super Kings record in the IPL over the years.
Two-time former champions and the most consistent team of the season, Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with late bloomers Mumbai Indians in a high-voltage Indian Premier League summit clash in Kolkata, bringing the 47-day T20 extravaganza to a relatively controversy-free end.
With the series already in their pocket, India will look to give some of the bench players a chance but there will be no let-up in the intensity as they eye a complete whitewash against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Mumbai on Sunday.
'Dhoni has got his own ways of captaining the Indian team. He might not give out details or might not explain, but in his mind he knows very well how to captain the side, which players to pick and the right combination for a particular condition.'
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