Muralitharan's omission is baffling

Old habits die hard. And the Pune Warriors have certainly shown throughout the duration of the IPL that their top-order has struggled to come to grips with the method of approaching the innings. Yesterday again, against the Chargers, the top-order fell apart in the first half of the innings and by the time the recovery came, they were down for the count.

One thought that the Warriors had erred in going in with a heavy batting side. The manner in which Jesse Ryder began swinging the bat around, the sense I got was that the lengthening of the batting had given the batsmen a license to go after the bowling. And that is where the approach backfired.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Amit Mishra's selection to the Indian squad seems to have boosted his morale enough to win him two man-of-the-match awards in a row. The verve in his bowling seems to be back, as is the rip which should augur well for him in the near future.

Not that it was a cakewalk of a win for the Chargers. They seem to have got their batting order finally right, with Sunny Sohal at the top with Shikhar Dhawan and pushing Ravi Teja down the order. Unfortunately, the win and the changed line-up, comes in a tad too late for them to make too much difference.

What could make a difference though, and to the points table is Kochi's last game against the Chennai Super Kings. Their stinging win over the Royals threw them a lifeline but to avail it, they need to not only beat Chennai in Chennai but also pray hard. Without getting into the intricacies, it would be safe to say that the chances of Kochi qualifying for the play-offs hinges greatly on how well both Kolkata and Punjab perform in their last couple of games.

With Mahela Jayawardene flying back, the side has a new captain in Parthiv Patel. Interestingly, Parthiv had played for the Super Kings till the previous season and would know a thing or two about how the side functions. What Mahela's absence will also do is to allow the side to play Muthiah Muralitharan, as their fourth overseas player. At the expense of being repetitive, Murali's absence baffles me. If Brad Hodge could pick four wickets in the previous game, there was enough in the pitch to warrant his selection!

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The Super Kings, however, have been superb. At home, they have proved their invincibility. As if the opponents weren't already scratching their heads, the sudden rise in the batting form of Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni would have given Kochi much more to think about. Juxtapose that with Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina and the highly talented Badrinath and one is talking of a serious line-up.

Sreesanth and co. will need to be at the top of their game, much like how they were in the game against the Rajasthan Royals, to contain the Super Kings. Dwayne Bravo's entry into the Super Kings side gives them an extra option as well. While his bowling seems a little off the boil, his couple of wickets against Delhi would have been a morale-booster.

Professional Management Group