The Chennai Super Kings will look to strengthen their position for a semifinal place when they take on the Lahore Lions in their Champions League T20 2014 match in Bangalore on Thursday.
CSK bounced back from that morale-sapping defeat to KKR, who have already booked their place in the semis, in their opening CLT20 2014 match, with an authoritative victory over the Dolphins. That particular match was a run-fest, and then some, as CSK put on a massive 242 runs on the board, before stopping the Dolphins charge at 188.
Clearly, CSK's strength lie in their batting, and skipper MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming will be well aware of the fact that there is no better venue to take advantage of their batting prowess than the Chinnaswamy Stadium – a batsman's paradise.
"It was a good win in the last match and it was a good response after losing the first game to KKR," Fleming said. "But there is no complacency because we understand that winning the next two matches will take us through to the semis.
"We are usually bouncing all around the country, so this time being at one spot is an advantage. But we need to make the most of it. We have to see what worked for us in the last match and what didn't, and look to get better.
"If we do that, win the next few games here and make it to the final, we will have an advantage as the final is to be held here too."
CSK's mammoth total pretty much put Dolphins out of the contest in their last game, but the team from South Africa did give Dhoni and co. a real scare, especially early on when they went slam-bang to great effect.
Bowling remains a concern for CSK, and Fleming, while acknowledging the need for improvement also knows there is very little the bowlers can do when the conditions are so ideally suited to the batsmen.
"With the change in conditions you need to change your expectations," added Fleming. "Again, playing a few games at the same venue helps you make the subtle changes in length and pace.
"It's not easy but also it's not right to go into a game thinking every game is going to be a high-scoring one. We can't go in thinking that we will score 200 every time or go for 200.
"We have to be realistic with what we want the bowlers to achieve. A bit of resilience and confidence building is important. Our bowling has been inconsistent at times but maybe our batting is so strong that it makes our bowling look a little weak."
For the Lahore Lions, this is pretty much a must-win game after their opening loss to KKR. The Lions did extremely well to get to the main draw at the expense of the defending champions the Mumbai Indians; however, they were not able to stop another IPL team in KKR.
With a third IPL side in CSK now lying in wait, the Lahore Lions will know they need to be 100 percent in every aspect of their game to come away from Bangalore with a 'W', and like most Pakistani sides, the Lions will rely on the strength of their bowling to curtail CSK's batting juggernaut.
"CSK played really well and scored 240-odd runs but the Dolphins fought back to get close to 190 themselves," Lions left-arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz said. "We have a better bowling attack and it is going to be a different game between us and CSK."
Where to Watch Live
The CSK vs Lahore Lions CLT20 2014 Match 11 is scheduled for an 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start in Bangalore with live coverage available on on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 [in Hindi] and Star Sports HD1. The match can also be watched via free live streaming online HERE. Rest of the world viewers can catch all the match action via online free live streaming HERE. Catch the action in the UK and Europe on Eurosport, while viewers can also watch online via a live stream HERE.
Viewers in the US can catch all the action on ESPN, with the option available for live streaming HERE. Canada viewers will be able to view the game on Sportsnet or live online HERE. Middle East and North Africa viewers go HERE to watch the match online, while the match can be live streamed in South Africa and Sub Saharan HERE.
