Chargers look to turn the corner at home
The voices are not loud yet, but one can feel the tension as the staff prepares the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium for the Chargers' second home game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with the team showing little promise in the earlier two matches. Abhijeet Kulkarni reports.
Those associated with the Deccan Chargers are already drawing parallels with the opening season of the Indian Premier League, which saw them win just two of their 14 games.
The voices are not loud yet, but one can feel the tension as the staff prepares the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium for the Chargers' second home game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with the team showing little promise in the earlier two matches.
The 2009 champions have undergone an overhaul this season with only Pragyan Ojha and D Ravi Teja retaining their spots among the regulars. But the move has backfired with the foreign stars, including captain Kumar Sangakkara, failing to strike form and the absence of a match-winner among the Indian talent.
Sangakkara has put up a brave front, saying the team needed just one good result to change the tide and the two back-to-back home matches should provide them the opportunity to strike form.
The Royal Challengers are also under pressure after a crushing defeat against the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday night, and the team management decided to take it easy to let the players recover mentally and physically.
Even the visitors have made drastic changes to their squad and though they have one win to show in the two games, they are far from a settled outfit.
The Chargers' chances depend on their bowlers' ability to raise the game on Thursday against a batting line-up up that boasts of Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.
They may look to shake up the batting order to get some stability. Sangakkara himself has not been impressive so far and a lot would depend on whether the former Sri Lanka skipper manages to strike form.
