Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni will be confident of pulling off yet another victory when they host the Kings XI Punjab in their IPL 2013 game.
The Chepauk has been a fortress for CSK in the IPL and the home side will go into the game as heavy favourites having won eight of their ten games so far, which sees them well clear at the top of the table.
Every single player has contributed one way or the other for CSK in IPL 2013 and no team bats as deep as the two-time IPL champions.
MS Dhoni was the main man for CSK in the previous game, scoring a ridiculous 45 in 16 balls, to spur his side to a comfortable win over the Pune Warriors, one of only two teams to have beaten them this season.
Kings XI coach Darren Lehmann knows the danger that Dhoni poses, and has made plans to stop the CSK skipper in his tracks for the game on Thursday.
"He's a quality player and can take the game away from you," Lehmann said of Dhoni. "We'll have to come up with some good plans, which we have. But again, if he hits the ball it's going to go for a six. We've got to limit his scoring opportunities as well as we can and hopefully pick him up early."
Kings XI's own skipper Adam Gilchrist has not had a great time of it in IPL 2013, and Lehmann said it was the veteran's decision to drop himself in the previous game against the Mumbai Indians, which they lost narrowly by four runs.
"Having played with him, coached him and being very good mates with him, makes it even more difficult," Lehmann said.
"But it was a decision we all made as a selection panel that he too is a part of. And he was pretty adamant not to play. That's the sort of guy he is. You've got to make those decisions in this format to try and find the right balance and we thought that balance was in dropping him the other night."
Kings XI will be desperate for a win against CSK to keep their playoff hopes alive, having already lost five of their nine games.
To watch CSK vs Kings XI Live Streaming for U.S. viewers, click here.
