The former opener of Chennai Super Kings Matthew Hayden has advised the five-time IPL champions that they must aim to dismiss Virat Kohli early in the powerplay ahead of the 2024 opener on Friday, March 22nd.
Kohli is making a comeback to cricket after a break, having been on paternity leave. He will be heading to Chepauk, where his record falls short of his own lofty standards.
During a conversation with Star Sports, Hayden pointed out that Kohli’s performance at Chepauk, where he has scored 362 runs in 12 matches with an average of 30.17 and a strike rate of 111.38, hasn’t met his usual high standards. This underscores the notion that even exceptional players like Kohli can face challenges in certain venues.
“One thing is for certain, it’s a blockbuster showdown. Virat Kohli this year is going to be celebrated across all the games. His record is a 30 average at Chepauk stadium with a strike rate of 111. You know what that means? Someone like Virat, even the greatness of Virat has been reduced in terms of his overall performance at that venue.”
“It is a tricky venue to bat on, especially as an opening batsman. It gets a weird tennis ball-type bounce, and it’s quite slow and difficult to play shots early, but the longer you bat, the game opens up and that’s where Virat can be at his most dangerous. If he is prepared to bat the 20 overs, he can put together a match-winning performance,” said Hayden.
In his recent matches against CSK, Kohli has often been dismissed early in the powerplay, a scenario that Hayden hopes will repeat for his former team once again on Friday.
“200 is very accessible at Chinnaswamy but not necessarily at Chepauk Stadium. A 150, 130 at times has been plenty of runs when you get guys as good as Jadeja there who bowls stump to stump with the odd ball to turn and the oddball that stays low, it’s really tricky, so they’re going to need Virat Kohli out early inside the powerplay. They’ve done so thrice over the last 5 innings, and they’ll need to do so for the 4th time,” said Hayden.
