Daijiworld Media Network

Pune, Apr 30: Hello, and a warm welcome to one and all to the 42nd match of the Indian T20 league. The table toppers, Chennai will take on the laggards of the competition, Pune in their own den. A win for Chennai will increase their lead in the standings while the equation for Pune is pretty simple. Win each and every match from here on or bid good bye to their hopes of qualifying to the knockouts. Pune have already defeated Chennai once this season. That was the game when Steven Smith went crazy with the bat. Can they do it again?

Chennai have won the toss and elected to bat.

Teams:

Pune (Playing XI): Aaron Finch(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Yuvraj Singh, Luke Wright, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Tirumalsetti Suman, Rahul Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kane Richardson

Chennai (Playing XI): Michael Hussey, Wriddhiman Saha, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni(w/c), Albie Morkel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Chris Morris, Mohit Mahipal Sharma

Finch: 'The results don't tell the true story. We have been playing good cricket in this tournament. It's pretty easy to keep the guys motivated - they are professionals and we are up for it. This is probably the best crowd in the competition, we have to give them a win. We would have batted first as well, but the wicket shouldn't change much. We did well last time against Chennai so hope to do well again. Suman replaces Mithun Manhas.'

Dhoni: 'We do have a change in the side. There is plenty of grass on the wicket but it still has a tendency to keep low. Albie Morkel replaces Nannes. After every game, we see where we haven't performed well and try our best to correct our mistakes. Looks like a good wicket as of now, let's see how it behaves. We are not looking too far ahead, there are a few areas where we have to improve as a side. We are focused on that and not thinking about the play offs.'

For Chennai: Dirk Nannes is out, Albie Morkel is in.

Match Preview:

Tournament favourites and top the League, Chennai are set to take on the last placed and beleaguered Pune in a David vs Goliath clash in Pune. The hosts had pulled off a miracle the last time these two teams met. Can they upset the mighty men in yellow once again or will the MS Dhoni led side come up with a revenge act?

Pune

Team News: Pune has been let down by their batsmen. Only a total of 3 half centuries have been hit by them thus far and all 3 belong to Aaron Finch. Yuvraj Singh has been the biggest disappointment. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rahul Sharma have been economical with the ball but the rest of the bowlers have failed to live up to their reputation.

In form player: Aaron Finch has given Pune good starts at the top of the order. While he has batted with responsibility and maturity, having compiled 266 runs so far, the skipper will be hoping for some useful contributions from the rest of the batters as well.

Hit: Luke Wright is a dangerous middle order batsmen. He has the ability to change the course of a game by some powerful hitting and can clear the ropes at will.

Miss: Yuvraj Singh hasn't lived up to his name and reputation thus far. He has got a few starts but has not been able to convert them into any score of meaningful value.

Last three matches: Lost to Delhi by 15 runs, Lost to Bangalore by 130 runs, Lost to Punjab by 7 wickets.

Chennai:

Team News: Chennai have been the team to beat in the League. They have 7 wins from 9 matches and have the ideal team for this format of the game. Michael Hussey has given them great starts and skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja have finished the job and stepped on the peddle coming down the order. Mohit Sharma has been impressive and Chris Morris has bowled particularly well in the death overs. R Ashwin too has been very economical and difficult to get away.

In form player: Michael Hussey has been in tremendous form in the tournament. He is 2nd in the list for the maximum aggregate runs in the tournament, just a mere 5 runs behind Chris Gayle.

Hit: MS Dhoni has come up with scintillating cameos taking Chennai home on more than one occasion. He is their go-to man. When the going gets tough, Mahi gets going!

Miss: Murali Vijay hasn't exactly set the house on fire and has been struggling up the order. He has just aggregated 122 from 8 matches and the string of failures led to his exclusion in the previous match.

Last three matches: Defeated Kolkata by 14 runs, Defeated Hyderabad by 5 wickets, Defeated Rajasthan by 5 wickets.

Head to Head: 5 matches: Chennai 3, Pune 2

CB Pick: Chennai will start as the overwhelming favourites. Pune would need a miracle to upstage the table toppers.