Chennai: For over a decade, the battle between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians has been the marquee clash of the Indian Premier League, and Saturday’s game promises to be another action-packed one, with MI opener Ishan Kishan hinting his team will look to play an aggressive brand of cricket.
“If the ball is there to be hit, we will go for it because, in T20 cricket, you just need one or two good overs. We know they (CSK) have got plenty of spinners. We have played so many years of IPL, so we know how the wicket will play in Chennai, so we are ready for any conditions,” said Kishan on Friday.
With its middle-order hitting form just at the right moment coming towards the end of the league stage, the five-time champion has been able to chase big totals in its last two matches.
However, the wicketkeeper batter also spoke about how crucial it will be for the top-order to play long innings and not leave it to the middle and lower-order.
“You have to take your chances when you are batting. We know how well Tim (David), Tilak (Varma) and Surya bhai (Suryakumar Yadav) are batting right now, but still, when you are in the middle as the set batter, you always want to finish the game. You don’t want to leave it on the new batters,” said Kishan, whose quick 75 helped his side beat Punjab Kings in the previous match.
“Especially considering the conditions we will get here in Chennai on Saturday, it will be difficult for them to come in immediately and start scoring runs. We have played matches on good wickets for batting, but here I don’t know how the wicket will play. If it turns, it’s important for the top-order batters to spend time in the middle so that we don’t put pressure on those who will bat at number 4, 5, 6,” added the 24-year-old.
Meanwhile, CSK’s bowling consultant Eric Simons said there is no panic in the team dressing room even as the team has lost two of its last three matches. From being within striking distance of making the playoffs after five wins from the first seven games, the team has managed only one point since then, courtesy of the washed-out match against Lucknow Super Giants.
However, Simons saw the bright side in the blip, saying, “It is not often the team that races away and qualifies, which goes on to win it. Often it is the team that is battle-hardened by the time you get there. So maybe it is not bad for us to come through a situation where we have to now get into tough matches.”
“We need to fight for each other and learn how to battle through that. It’s not a bad thing in the IPL in my experience because you arrive as a battle-hardened team, and that’s probably the best thing to be,” the South African added.
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