Sir Viv Richards Eager to See How KKR Counter CSK's Batting Threat

Arguably the most consistent side in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings are currently sitting at the top of the table in the ongoing season.

The men in yellow will need to clinch just two more victories – to seal a berth in the playoffs of edition eleven of the lucrative Twenty20 league.

The side has a strong batting line up with veteran all-rounder Shane Watson and experienced batter Ambati Rayudu doing the bulk of the job by scoring at will.

Suresh Raina has been among runs as well but the biggest gain in the middle order has been skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s rich form.

Chennai batters hit a purple patch:

Windies legend Sir Viv Richards is eager to see how Knight Riders’ skipper Dinesh Karthik stops the visiting side from scoring at the iconic Eden Gardens, the venue for tonight’s (May 3) game.

The last time these two sides met, Chennai chased down a daunting total of 203, much to the delight of their home fans. 

The side has also chased down 206 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and therefore the threat looms large for the gold and purple army.

“There is no doubt that MS Dhoni has been unstoppable this season, but Dinesh Karthik has brought something new to the table by putting abundant faith in his young bowlers,” wrote Richards in his column for Times of India.

Richards on Karthik:

Richards complimented Karthik’s leadership as he showed faith in his players.

“Showing confidence and mentoring youngsters seems to be the No 1 agenda in Karthik’s scheme of things. KKR’s Shivam Mavi went for a lot of runs against Punjab but Karthik played Mavi in the next match and the bowler justified the faith shown on him,” Richards added.

Sir Viv Richards believes using Sunil Narine at the top has benefitted the Kolkata-based outfit while adding the latter reminds him of former veteran batter Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka.

“Another factor that works for Kolkata is Sunil Narine’s role as an opener. It reminds me of [Sanath] Jayasuriya during his heydays. Both teams have a well-rounded squad that knows when to step up, but it will be interesting to see what the boys do on their given day.” he added.

Also, Read: IPL 2018: Mark Waugh Believes Death Bowling Has Been a Major Worry for RCB Camp