It has been one year since Matthew Hayden has hung up his boots; but IPL proved that genius is a genius - international cricket and beyond. Since the beginning of the current season, Hayden has made it clear that he is here to rule. All along in an explosive form, Mathew Hayden proved a point and that is: to be the top scorer of the twenty-20 tournament you need not be at the right side of your twenties. At 37, Hayden is still an asset for his team with a cricket score as huge as 546 runs from 11 matches and helping his team reach the semi-finals, having finished second at the point table.

The former Aussie cricketer attributes his IPL success to his stress free mind and body. Too much international cricket puts the cricketers under intense physical and mental pressure and the exhausted players fail to give their hundred percent to all the matches they play. “The international program is designed in such a way as to keep athletes busy to the point of exhaustion,” opined Hayden, who has scored 30 centuries in his 15-year Test career. However, he took his IPL assignment pretty seriously, but as there was no additional pressure relating to international commitments, he could give out his best in a stress free manner. “There's no question that from my point of view I've been able to relax and enjoy the tournament. I can be fresh and ready to go without the jetlag of a busy international schedule,” he said.

The CSK skipper, MS Dhoni is however all praise about the Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. “I think Muralitharan put pressure on the opposition nicely. They just wanted to play him through because the target was not big and I think that was a mistake. Because on this kind of track, even the best of spinners, you want to put pressure on them,” said a visually happy Dhoni after beating the Kings XI on Wednesday. Muralitharan may have been the Man of the Match, but two other off-spinners Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin also provided just the right kind of support to the Sri Lankan spin wizard. With the trio taking the charge of Chennai side, the Punjab gave a dismal batting display in their last match.  

It is this sweeping victory against the Yuvraj led team that CSK is now being rated as the most likely champion in the tournament. As feels Shane Warne, so most of the serious watchers of IPL. “I don’t think Delhi Daredevils is the best side in the competition. I think it is Super Kings who look a better side. And Chennai Super Kings are probably the favorites to win,” said the former Aussie leg-spinner. Dhoni is too happy with Warne’s prediction, “It feels good when somebody reckons you as the favourites in the tournament,” said CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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