Never been involved in tournament where points table is so tight: Mike

CHENNAI: Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey expressed that he has never seen any tournament which has such a tight and intense points table.

With the passing matches, the points table of the Indian Premier League is becoming more competitive. Till now there is no clarity on which four teams would qualify for the Playoffs.

Before the match between CSK and Delhi Capitals, Michael Hussey said that they are dreaming about their place in the Playoffs, but the points table is looking very dangerous.

"I do not think I have ever been involved in a tournament where the table is so tight. So, it would be so dangerous to start looking ahead and start thinking about a final finishing position because if you take your eye off, then we will get ourselves into trouble. So, it is not even been a topic of conversation at all. Obviously, we are dreaming about it [the Playoffs]. And hoping, but there's a lot of hard work to be done before," CSK batting coach said ahead of the match.

Praising Shivam Dube, Mike Hussey said that he is a unique talent and has got phenomenal power to hit it out of the park.

"He is a unique talent. His ability to hit the ball out of the park is amazing. He has got phenomenal power. We see him in practice all the time. What is really important is the clarity on his role in the team, maybe we did not quite have it last year and at the start of this year," he added.

Giving the update on Dube's figure injury in the last match, Mike said that though he has a finger injury he is fine to play the match against DC.

"He had a sort of finger injury trying to take a catch in the last game. It was great sign that he was able to come out and bat. Fingers crossed, he will be fine to get through the DC match," Hussey said of Dube.

About the match with DC, he said, "It (Delhi Capitals) has been in good form. It has won four of its last five matches. It is good to come here (Chennai) with a bit of confidence. It did well in the last match (against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Delhi), it was a dominant win.

"We have to play at our best. I know DC is sitting at the bottom of the table, but it is so close to jumping up very quickly with a couple of wins."

When asked about the bad form of Ben Stokes, Mike said, "Stokes has been training really well. I am pretty sure that he is available for selection. It just comes down to the balance of the squad. Obviously, we have been playing in sort of spinning conditions, so they have decided to go for the extra spin-bowling option rather than Stokes, an all-rounder who can bowl seam," he said.

Currently, CSK is in second place in the points table with six wins and four losses, with one match failing to produce a result. They have a total of 13 points. On the other hand, DC is at the bottom with four wins and six losses. They have a total of eight points and would be aiming to reach double-digits. CSK had won its previous match against Mumbai Indians (MI) while DC had won their previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.