Ashish Nehra proves to be a liability for CSK in opening loss to KXIP

This was game between one of the most consistent teams – Chennai Super Kings - and one of the most promising teams of this IPL - Kings XI Punjab. KXIP was probably the smartest buyer in the February player auction but they were up against the super stars of the IPL. There was Chennai v Punjab in both the theaters and the IPL. In the first, Aliya Bhatt outperformed the Punjabis while in other Glenn Maxwell outclassed CSK. This game had many duels within duels. Between the fiery Mitchell Johnson and explosive Brendon McCullum, between Glenn Maxwell and R Ashwin, between Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra. McCullum not only won his duel but also did it with brute force. He reminded everyone of the first IPL match where he smashed a brilliant century. Sehwag showed glimpses of his old brilliance and exhibited a few classic strokes but Nehra won the duel in the end. [caption id=“attachment_1487013” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ashish Nehra did not impress with this attempt to take a catch. BCCI[/caption] Another positive for CSK was the sensible innings played by Smith that is contrary to his playing style. This explosive opening duo will be trump card for CSK this year. However, the injury to Dwayne Bravo will hurt the team. Over the years CSK has come to be known for their thorough professionalism and today it was on full display while batting but CSK needs to improve their bowling department, where barring Ashwin no one looks like a wicket-taking bowler. Nehra and Mohit Sharma need to raise their level and Sir Ravindra Jadeja also seems to have lost his magic touch over the past few months. Fans were disappointed with the buying of Nehra and today’s performance did not improve his image among CSK fans. It might be wise for Dhoni to give Samuel Badree and Ishwar Pandey a chance. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the poor fielding by CSK They are normally a bunch of world-class fielders but Nehra dropping Maxwell was the killer blow. Why Dhoni chose to bat first is also surprising, given he is known to be believer in chasing targets. CSK have of late been in the news for the wrong reasons and it nothing would have been better than replying on the field. CSK has to make an emphatic statement this IPL. They can’t afford lackluster performances for long. The silver lining is CSK has always been slow starters and barring last season they have always been average in first half before being at their best in the second half of the tournament. So Kanna Keep Calm and have faith in Dhoni’s man. They will be back with bang.