"Champion of Champions" Chennai Super Kings

[SoftSword]

[SIZE="5"]Apparently, the Chepauk stadium’s vaastu consultant has got it bang on with all the elements so favouring the home team that visitors have to be twice as good to win here.

seruppaala adikkanum ivanungala ellaam...

[ajaybaskar]

NS is known for his vaastu beliefs. Heard that he opted for a particular table in the corner during the auctions.

[SoftSword]

panam vechirukkavan vaasthu, koosthu edhu venaa paakkattum.... adhukkaga selavum pannattum... avan panamaachum veliya varum...
en kovam, indha vasthu paakkuradha polappaa vechirukkkavan melayum, kaasu illadhavanum kadan vaangi, irukkura veedayum idichu thirumba katrenu theruvula nikkiraangalae, avunga melayum dhaan.

[ajaybaskar]

A few days' rest and food poisoning

23 May 2011, 05:41:12 PM
Posted by Faf du Plessis

So, we’re into the IPL play-offs, as the defending champions should be, and my guys are playing good cricket. Top of the log, as it stands, but still plenty of hard work ahead.

We’re in good shape and even better off, now that we’ve just enjoyed a few days rest away from cricket. As mentioned in my previous column, I had a couple of days in Fisherman’s Cove, with Albie Morkel, Tim Southee, Scott Styris and his wife and daughter, Dougie Bollinger, Mike Hussey, Stephen Fleming and a couple of the Indian team officials, including the owner of the Chennai Super Kings.

It really was an unbelievable trip and the perfect getaway from cricket. It was about an hour’s drive from where we stay in Chennai. It’s a five-star resort on the beach. We booked into great apartments all next to each other and spent most of our time in this massive pool, with a water bar inside it. We could sit on chairs, in the pool, around the bar and that’s where we sat, enjoying a few drinks, chilling out, playing some music and relaxing. In the evening, we enjoyed an amazing buffet dinner on the beach.

The guys got stuck into some incredible seafood, although I had to be a little careful, as I’m allergic to shellfish. It was a really nice dinner, a couple of bottles of red wine, next to the sea, playing some guitar music and chilling in the sand. It doesn’t get any better. Albie, Tim and myself ended the evening by running into the waves and having a bit of a dip. We were a little bit braver then, you see.

The next day, we had brunch and then headed back to Chennai. If I had to liken Fisherman’s Cove to anything back home, I’d have to say it’s a bit like Mozambique, just because it’s so remote and away from everything else. It was just great to have some time away from the craziness of the IPL.

Back in Chennai, we’ve got a busy time ahead and there’ll be no taking our foot off the gas and resting players. I know that some of you are interested in whether or not I’m going to get a game, but the plan is to finish in the top two, after the round robin stage. So, with the team playing so well, I’m not anticipating playing and I’m fine with that, because the team is in such good shape.

Just looking at the win over the Kochi Tuskers the other night – I, unfortunately, didn’t even get to do my 12th man fielding duties. That’s because I was completely ‘man down’. We went for dinner the night before and I had the Lamb Shank, which didn’t prove to be a good choice. After going to bed, I spent the rest of the evening in the toilet and by the next morning, I had to call the team manager and ask him to get a doctor.

Food poisoning was the diagnosis, which wasn’t too much of a surprise and I spent the rest of the day in bed. But, when Flem heard about it, he told me it was best to just sit out. So, I spent the evening in the changeroom and it was good to see the boys win, once again. Fortunately, also, Tim didn’t get on the field, so he didn’t take my fielding limelight away from me!

Before I go, just a return to our time at Fisherman’s Cove. I was introduced to Mike Hussey’s alter ego, who made an appearance after a few drinks. It was quite hysterical, actually, as he’s a completely different person and incredibly funny. A really interesting character and suffice to say that the rest of the squad are now aware of his alter ego and that’s the name he goes by!

[directhit]

NS is known for his vaastu beliefs. Heard that he opted for a particular table in the corner during the auctions.

ivan okkaranumnaave vaasthu paathu dhaan pola...

[VENKIRAJA]

So, now Kutty thala raina will be the captain for the WI tour? Another captain in CSK

[SoftSword]

now badhri has a good chance to play all the matches...
hope he makes it count.

[ajaybaskar]

Look how they shine...

Does the colour of a sporting team's attire have any say in the final outcome? Folks back at the fag end of the 19th century certainly thought so. Herbert Kilpin, an English expatriate in Italy, when deciding on the team colours for his new football club, said, “We are a team of devils. Our colours are red as fire and black to invoke fear in our opponents!”

Literally translated in Italian, the two colours form the word Rossoneri. If you haven't guessed by now, the club the Nottingham-native founded in 1899 was AC Milan, and their red and black jerseys still invoke the fear of the devil in the minds of their rivals.

Cut to the 21st century. Does the logic still hold true now? A closer look at Chennai and the city's beloved defending IPL champions, Chennai Super Kings, and you'd believe so.

Kings at home

This much is certain. To end CSK's reign as champions, their opponents in the IPL-4 grand finale at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday will have to do what no team has done this season — beat Dhoni & Co on their home turf.

What is not certain is the reason behind CSK's perfect home record. The captaincy of MS Dhoni, the batting of the top-order led by Suresh Raina, or the bowling of Doug Bollinger and R Ashwin? While any of those can pass for valid answers, could the real explanation be simpler?

What is the link between the bandana covering the bald dome of percussionist Sivamani, the ice cream they serve at the media centre in Chepauk and the autos and public transport buses in Chennai? They're all yellow. The devil lies in the detail and the CSK management has left nothing to chance. Serving mango ice cream because of its yellowish shade, that's called down to the last detail.

On match-days, the stadium is drowned in a sea of yellow. From the clothes of the spectators to the flags they're waving, everything has a golden hue. The Oakley sunglasses of the players also come with a yellowish tinge.

Yellow fortress

Together all these elements conspire to turn Chepauk into a yellow fortress, the walls of which prove impenetrable for the visiting teams. The only thing missing is Chris Martin and his band Coldplay. Don't be surprised if next season, he comes down to Chepauk to do a special rendition of the band's breakthrough single Yellow. Okay, maybe that's stretching it too far.

But, make no mistake, come Saturday, with a sea of yellow around them, it will hardly come as a surprise if CSK's opponents are left yellow-bellied.

[ajaybaskar]

Albie: SA’s richest player?



Cape Town – He may not always be wanted by his country for limited-overs cricket, and many would argue that he is under-appreciated, but Albie Morkel may well be laughing all the way to the bank as South Africa’s wealthiest player in current earnings capacity.

And if that is indeed his status, the Chennai Super Kings, his long-time Indian Premier League franchise, would no doubt argue that he is worth every penny.

Unassuming, Vereeniging-born Morkel again demonstrated on Tuesday night that he counts among the very best Twenty20 “finishers” on the planet, as he played a major role in powering Chennai into a guaranteed final spot at this year’s IPL; they saw off Ray Jennings’s Bangalore Royal Challengers charges in a thrilling first qualifier at Mumbai.

There was still an awful lot to do as Morkel took to the crease at 131 for four in pursuit of a stiff 176 for victory, and only 20 balls to do it in. But with man-of-the-match Suresh Raina (73 not out) handily on song at the other end too, his whirlwind 28 not out off just 10 balls, at a strike rate of 280 and including three sixes, saw his side over the line.

Apart from looking entirely mentally unflappable, as he so often does, Morkel has that uncanny ability to somehow get his bat beneath perfectly decent-length balls and blast them into the stands, which is the ultimate way to unnerve even the steeliest of bowlers.

It is true that he earlier took some “tap” on the bowling front – this is often viewed as his biggest drawback in Proteas terms – but bowlers are there to mostly be flogged mercilessly anyway in this format, and as long as he keeps on winning or influencing games with the blade in the fashion he does, he will stay a hugely valuable and crowd-pleasing entity.

In national and domestic contractual terms, there will be bigger South African earners than Morkel, but he is smack in the epicentre of the massively lucrative, Indian-dominated T20 landscape, playing as he does for the IPL team with the best win percentage since the tournament’s inception in 2008.

A couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday, Morkel is sipping on the consistently heady fruits of representing CSK – remember that he has been loyal to them from the very start of the IPL, when he first fetched US$675 000 at the auction, and he was the only South African retained by any single franchise at this year’s one.

His T20 career for them alone is busy making him a lot more than “comfortable” for the rest of his life, assuming that he doesn’t fritter away his earnings on Lamborghinis and Moet (and those who know him will confirm he is hardly that type).

Bear in mind that Chennai, the defending champions anyway, are now in line again for the winning IPL prize money this year of US$1.5m (the runners-up get half that).

Even more importantly in cash terms, Morkel’s team are also assured of a place once more in the annual Champions League Twenty20 event, scheduled for India in September.

In last year’s Wanderers final, the Chennai “mean machine” beat South Africa’s Warriors by eight wickets, with Morkel very much at his post for the winners even if he wasn’t required to bat in the one-sided affair.

Three Indian IPL sides traditionally feature in the Champions League, which offers total prize money in excess of US$6m, with the winners taking home $2.5m - the biggest team booty in the game.

The brand value of the Chennai Super Kings, if Wikipedia has it right, is estimated to be around US$70m.

Yes, there are few better cricketing boots to be in than Johannes Albertus Morkel’s right now ...

[ajaybaskar]

Gritty Ashwin confident of playing in final

Every time you see the replay of the ball thudding into and off R Ashwin’s left temple, you can't help but wince.

Suresh Raina (right) takes a close look at Ravichandran Ashwin’s temple after he was hit hard by a shot from Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Saurabh Tiwary. AFPIt was the kind of blow that could have inflicted serious damage, but fortunately for Ashwin – not to mention his family, friends, well-wishers and the Chennai Super Kings – and striker Saurabh Tiwary himself, the brave Tamil Nadu off-spinner is none the worse for the hit, and should in all probability turn up for the defending champions in the final of IPL IV on Saturday night. The incident in question happened off the last ball of Ashwin’s spell in Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday night, when a ferociously struck straight drive by the left-handed Tiwary struck him flush on the temple before bounding away to long-on.

Ashwin immediately went down in a heap, but quickly assuaged fears by getting back up on his feet, walking away off the park with the physio, and then watching with his head bandaged from the dug-out as his team-mates pulled off an improbable win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.

As is the norm in such cases, Ashwin didn’t go for a scan until a few hours had elapsed after the incident. The CT scan was eventually performed at 1 in the morning, and the result was encouraging in that it revealed no serious injury.

Advised to rest

Ashwin has been advised total rest for the next couple of days, but sounded in high spirits as he looked ahead to the title clash at the MA Chidambaram stadium, in front of his home crowd, against as yet undecided opponents. “To have three days’ gap ahead of the final is a massive help,” remarked Ashwin, silently grateful that the Super Kings made it to the title round at the first possible instance. “The physio has said there is nothing to worry. A final call on whether I can play or not will be taken by the doctor, but from my side, I am quite confident of playing.”

The Tiwary strike might have stirred Ashwin up a bit, but he surely is not shaken. “It was a very hard hit,” he recalled.

“I tried to get my hands to the ball and it did graze my finger, but it was too late. I was dazed for a few minutes after I was hit, but it felt fine after a while. The pain was bearable and the swelling is also under control.”

Ashwin has been a massive influence for the Super Kings, bowling without nerves in the Power Play overs, picking up crucial wickets and still going at an admirable 6.30 runs per over. Already this season, he has taken 17 wickets in 15 matches, and has every reason therefore to want to play on Saturday.