Chennai Super Kings (CSK) looked really good against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 23 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) as they won the match comfortably by 7 wickets and regained their top spot on the points table.
While the cricket fraternity lauded CSK for their amazing performances in their current matches, former West Indies skipper Brian Lara said that the Chennai-based franchise will be a team to beat with their strong batting and bowling unit.
“I think they are the team to beat at the moment. They don’t have big somebody like an Andre Russell who is going to go out there and score you a 50 in 15 balls but they have got a team which is most important,” Lara said on Star Sports.
The left-hand batsman then talked about CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad who did not get going from match 1, but skipper MS Dhoni stuck with him and as a result, Gaikwad is doing well at the moment.
“It’s unbelievable that when they started, they looked out of sorts. Especially Ruturaj, the way he started, his foot wasn’t moving properly. But MS Dhoni stuck with him, he stuck with the opening partnership which is great. And they are laying the foundation now,” the 51-year-old said.
“Their top 3 are important. You can’t leave out Moeen Ali as well. If they bat well, they look like they can chase any kind of target on good batting tracks. And if their bowlers are doing well on good bowling tracks, then they still have got a batting unit to survive it,” he added.
After a comfortable win over SRH, MS Dhoni and Co. will be back in action on Saturday (1 May) as they take on the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
(With Star Sports inputs)
