Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes that the thing which stand out most between Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 finalists – Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – is their working structure.
Speaking to Sportstar after a Star Sports-organised CSK fan event in Chennai on Saturday, Hayden said, “A very family-oriented (structure), relying on four or five players forms the base of each franchise. The only difference is that Mumbai Indians is run by a corporate structure.”
“It is difficult for corporations to get principles like loyalty and game awareness and things like that, whereas Indian Cements and Tamil Nadu are a very cricket-focused association with feeder systems through Tamil Nadu Premier League and Tamil Nadu Cricket.”
CSK will take on their arch-rivals MI in the IPL 2019 final on Sunday, May 12. Being dubbed as the ‘El Clasico’, Rohit Sharma’s MI will walk into the contest as clear favourites, as they has won all three matches against MS Dhoni’s CSK this season.
Hayden, however, believes the trophy would land in the CSK cabinet for a record fourth time this year. “CSK (will win). Numbers don’t really matter in a final. Neither (teams) have played their best cricket this time. In the last couple of games some of Mumbai Indian players like Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma have started to come into form. So, both sides have got their vulnerabilities,” he said.
“The last three contests it has been one-sided towards Mumbai Indians. CSK are a different side to what they have played in the three games (against MI) for different reasons.”
“MS Dhoni was missing which was enormous for CSK and they had a bad night in the first qualifier. That can happen in any tournament. But in the second qualifier, CSK got the balance spot on, especially at the top of the order.”
The 47-year-old left-handed batsman, who himself was a part of the yellow army which lifted the trophy in 2010, believes fielding has been its Achilles heel. “There is nothing that they (CSK) can change as of now. They are a poor fielding side. In the final where runs are a premium that can really hurt.”
