KUDOS to the Chennai SuperKings

Well one has to really appreciate the efforts of the Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings after they won their last game against table toppers Kings XI Punjab by 6 wickets. One can relax the matter by saying that the Chennai Superkings did it against a team that finished in the 8^th position of the points table which could be the worst possible position in this year's edition of the Indian Premier League. However, one should not forget that, though the Kings XI Punjab team were placed in the last position, they put up a mammoth total of 192 on the board, thus leaving the Chennai team with a tough task to face.

Nevermind that the Punjab team had lost all opportunities to make it to the last four of the tournament, but a win in the inconsequential games towards the fag end of the league stage of the tournament would give them some relief not only to the players but also to their franchisees and their fans. On the other hand, this was a do or die match for the Chennai Superkings, failing which they would have seen themselves catching up with their opposition namely their Kings XI Punjab by not making it to the semis. Moreover, it was a captain's knock which led to the Chennai team's success.

Hardly anyone would have thought that the Chennai Superkings would make it to the semis after most of the important players from the team had to return back home or warm the benches after injuries got better of them earlier in the tournament. The list includes players like Andrew Flintoff who was the highest bid considering all foreign players and Jacob Oram who is another all rounder along with the likes of Mike Hussey to name a few. Likewise, even the captain - Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to sit out from a few matches owing to injury, having Raina as their captain.

Despite the pressure for Dhoni's team to perform, they showed no signs of fear chasing a mammoth total of 193 runs imposed by the Kings XI Punjab. The Chennai team lost just 4 wickets enroute to their successful run chase which speaks for their confidence in their team and their captain as well. Just a night before the Chennai made the mammoth total of 193 look easy and gettable, the Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to go past 140 runs chasing the very same total of 192 against the Mumbai Indians despite getting Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. As a matter of statistics, the Chennai will be making to the semis of an IPL for the 3^rd consecutive time.