The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : ‘Teams will play more freely’

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‘Teams will play more freely’

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: Having completed the first objective of advancing to the DLF-IPL’s knock-out stage Chennai Super Kings is gearing itself to face Kings XI Punjab in the second semifinal on Saturday.

The Chennai-based side beat the Mohali side twice by 33 and 18 runs in the league, but without sounding to be overconfident, V.B. Chandrasekhar, the team’s Director of Cricket Operations, said: “We cannot take it (winning the away and home games) as an advantage. Teams will play the semifinals and final with a little more freedom. It’s a question of playing two good matches from now on. Teams will not have the fear of losing. ”

Super Kings led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni began the IPL well winning four matches. “We wanted to win the first four matches with our strength in batting and we did that. Our bowling was not as strong with four regular bowlers and adjusting with a fifth, but after the shuffling around thereafter we struggled.

“In this period we used five regular bowlers and depended on the middle order to bind it in the event of not getting a good start. There were options to chase in a handful of matches. It was like a quarterfinal knock-out against Deccan Chargers. We are used to the crunch game situations now.”

Chandrasekhar said the IPL has provided a big platform for Laxmipathy Balaji to play again in competitive cricket.

Stars pleased

Super Kings’ entry into the knock-out phase has pleased the likes of Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram who played their part in the team’s success in the early part of the tournament.

“They have been following the fortunes of the team and are in regular touch with the team management. They have congratulated the team,” concluded Chandrasekhar.

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