Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who is currently plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) feels that Chennai Super Kings will definitely make it to the final after the conclusion of the Qualifier 1 against the Mumbai Indians. Once again it will be an EL Classico in IPL as the two of the most successful teams in the tournament will lock horns against each other.
Mumbai Indians have already managed to beat Chennai in both the group games in the league stage. However, Harbhajan Singh is still optimistic of CSK turning it around despite losing the first couple of matches. It will be an awkward moment for Harbhajan Singh again when he turns up against his ex-team Mumbai Indians. The veteran spinner played first 10 seasons of the IPL for Mumbai Indians and was also the former skipper of the franchise.
“When I used to play for Mumbai, I remember how charged I used to be before this game. Mumbai is a side that comes to Chennai better prepared than other teams,” Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
“That’s not going to make any difference (CSK’s results against MI this season). Let’s make it very clear, those two losses are history. When I won the title in 2013 for Mumbai, we lost to CSK twice before beating them in the final. So those two losses in the group phase are out of our system.”
Mumbai Indians has produced some exceptional brand of cricket in this season so far and has gone on to top the points table after winning their final group game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Harbhajan Singh is well aware of the threat which the MI batters possess. The likes of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard has the ability to take the match away from the opposition within a matter of a single over. The spinner stated that he himself is looking forward to the challenge against his former franchise.
“They have quite a few matchwinners in their team. But I am looking forward to the challenge and all the wickets are important to me,” he said. Meanwhile coming back to the surface in Chennai, MS Dhoni has made perfect use of the conditions and has employed the services of Harbhajan Singh and the spinners only in Chennai.
“A team doesn’t win consistently because of conditions, it wins because it plays well. Yes, we have won six games here, but our only loss came against Mumbai…So this talk of conditions making us favourites doesn’t make much sense,” the veteran spinner opined.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh had no doubt in his mind that a match between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings is the biggest in IPL mainly due to the sheer consistency of the two teams. Mumbai Indians have a superior record against CSK and have won 16 while losing 11.
“Comfortably it’s the biggest game. None of the other teams is as consistent as these two…I remember the first time I played for CSK against Mumbai (in 2018), I wanted the game to get over as quickly as possible. Now it’s been a while and I am as much a part of the CSK family as I was of Mumbai’s,” Bhajji said.