They must have been admiring the view. It is certainly spectacular — perhaps the most scenic cricket stadium in India. Dharamsala, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, is where the Dalai Lama himself calls home.
Whatever they were doing they weren’t concentrating on the job at hand. As a result the reign of Chennai Super Kings as Indian Premier League champions is drawing to a close. All they can do now is watch, wait and pray for a minor miracle.
The team which, for the last two years, has ruled the IPL is living on borrowed time. Its destiny is no longer in its own hands and the wannabes are ready to seal its fate. One of two teams could bump CSK from the playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season.
Inconsistency has been Chennai’s Achilles heel. The Super Kings won only half their games and two of them, against Rajasthan and Kolkata, were decided on the final ball of game. The campaign began with an embarrassing home defeat to Mumbai and ended with another emphatic loss in the mountains against the Kings Xl Punjab.
Too often CSK have posted an uncompetitive total. On four occasions they failed to get to 140 and lost each time. Some credit must go to the bowling side for keeping things tight but Twenty20 cricket is all about the batsman’s individual skill and ingenuity. At this level setting a target of 7-an-over is simply not enough to defend.
M.S. Dhoni must shoulder some of the responsibility. India’s World Cup winning captain cannot do it all but the stats don’t lie. Not once in 2012 did Dhoni manage a half-century and his overall run total and strike-rate are well short of the levels he achieved in leading CSK to glory a year ago.
The influence of Mike Hussey was sorely missed. The Australian veteran led Chennai’s charge in 2011 but the tour of the West Indies severely curtailed his involvement this time round. As for CSK’s multi-million dollar acquisition of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja — let’s just say they didn’t get value for money.
Chennai could still creep in the back door. The Royals’ capitulation in Hyderabad has taken them out of the equation but both the Bangalore and Punjab franchises can leapfrog the Super Kings by winning their final games.
Adam Gilchrist’s Kings Xl get first go. Having taken down Chennai with more than three overs to spare, they stay up North to tackle the Delhi Daredevils. Gilchrist, who’s spent much of the campaign on the sidelines recovering from hamstring injuries, returned with a Man of the Match performance against CSK. If he can do something similar against the IPL leaders, KXlP will be in the mix.
For the Royal Challengers the equation is simple — win and they’re in. RCB know any sort of victory over bottom club Deccan will guarantee a semi final berth and they could jump all the way up to second in the final standings depending on results elsewhere.
With Chris Gayle in the lineup we have all learned something. There is no such thing as impossible.