Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will hope to erase memories of their lost to Indian Premier League Champions Kolkata Knight Riders, and what better way to bounce back than a win against South African side Dolphins. Catch all the live updates here (Live Scorecard):
TAG OF FAVOURITES
Suresh Raina in action against Kolkata in the CLT20 opener.
© BCCI
Without a point in their respective opening matches, Chennai Super Kings and South African champions Dolphins will be keen to get their campaigns going when they face each other here under lights Monday in a Group A game of the Champions League Twenty20.
Coincidentally, both the teams lost matches from seemingly winning positions as the Super Kings were let down by their bowlers at the death which allowed Kolkata Knight Riders to scramble home by three wickets in Hyderabad, while Dolphins conceded two sixes off the last two deliveries and lost to Perth Scorchers by six wickets at Mohali.
Super Kings might be suffering from embarrassment of riches in their batting that fetched them two Indian Premier League (IPL) crowns besides a Champions League T20 title but as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has repeatedly said, it is their bowling at the death that has been cause for concern.
As for Dolphins, their chances on Monday would depend much on how fast they recover from the body-blows they suffered at Mohali where paceman Robbie Frylinck sinned by sending down two full tosses that were smashed for sixes by Mitchell Marsh in the final over. (Read: Chennai Super Kings Start Favourites Against Dolphins)
DHONI 'REVOLTS' FOR BIRYANI
Biryani, the secret to his energy? MS Dhoni during a Champions League Twenty20 match.
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In a rare show of 'anger', Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Chennai Super Kings teammates reportedly walked out of a five-star hotel in Hyderabad on Wednesday because they were refused from eating home-cooked biryani sent by Team India team-mate Ambati Rayudu, who is a local lad.
The incident happened soon after Chennai Super Kings lost their Champions League Twenty20 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The sudden change in hotels caught the security off-guard, but Dhoni was adamant, said the report. Tournament officials said about 180 rooms were booked for the Champions League Twenty20 at Grand Kakatiya. The rooms had been cleared by security officials. (Read: Denied Home-Cooked Biryani, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and CSK Storm Out of Hyderabad Hotel: Reports)
NEHRA'S BITTERNESS
At 35, Nehra is not prepared to give up the fight for an India return
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Out-of-favour with the national selectors, Ashish Nehra produced a sensational spell of pace bowling for Chennai Super Kings, albeit in a Champions League Twenty20 losing cause against Kolkata Knight Riders, and then hit out at critics for always highlighting his injuries.
Nehra, now 35, had made his international debut in 1999 amid promises of a long and successful career. However, frequent injuries and dip in form did not allow him to play more than 120 ODIs and 17 Test matches. (Read: People Have Always Overreacted to my Injuries, Says a Bitter Ashish Nehra)
STUNNED IN OPENER
Piyush Chawla (L in purple) hit the winning runs for Kolkata.
© BCCI
Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20.
Chasing a competitive 158 for a win, KKR were in trouble after slumping to 51 for five inside 10 overs.
However, Russell (58 off 25) and ten Doeschate shared match-winning 80 runs for the sixth wicket off just 42 balls to keep KKR afloat.
After Russell's dismissal, ten Doeshchate took the onus on himself to guide KKR home and managed to achieve that with six balls to spare.
KKR's chase, however, started on a horrendous note as they lost their first four wickets inside the 30-run mark.
Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (4/21) was the wrecker-in-chief for KKR. He accounted for the wickets of KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey and Manvinder Bisla in quick succession to rattle CSK. (Read: Andre Russell, Ryan ten Doeschate Ensure Winning Start for Kolkata Knight Riders)
DOLPHINS 'HOOKED' BY MARSH
Marsh hit consecutive sixes to deny Dolphins a victory.
© BCCI
The immensely talented Mitchell Marsh hit successive sixes off the last two deliveries as Perth Scorchers from Australia beat South Africa's Dolphins by six wickets in a group league match of the Champions League T20.
Needing 12 off the last two deliveries, Marsh dispatched seamer Robbie Frylinck over deep mid-wicket and long-on to successfully chase down a target of 165 set up by the Dolphins.
Ther final six sparked off wild celebrations as it turned out to be a disappointing end for the unfancied Dolphins, who were favourites till final two deliveries of the match.
It was ironical that Frylinck, who himself while batting hit two sixes off Yasir Arafat during the last over of the Dolphins innings, couldn't defend those two big hits, when he came on to bowl the final over in the Scorchers innings.
Predictably, Marsh was awarded man-of-the-match award for his 40 off 26 balls with three fours and two sixes. (Read: Mitchell Marsh Wins Thriller for Perth Scorchers)
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