Chennai hope for Dhoni return

By coincidence Chennai Super Kings, after five matches, are in the same spot this year as they were in South Africa in 2009: three matches lost and an uphill climb to the semi-finals. Injuries to key players have hampered their campaign and, with only nine games remaining, MS Dhoni's team is up against it to make the final four for the third season running.

The most damaging setback was the freak injury to the captain, who got hit on the elbow by a short ball from Shane Bond. In the absence of Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram from the entire season, Chennai rely on Dhoni and Matthew Hayden to provide momentum.

That reliance is evident from Chennai's experience so far. Hayden failed against Deccan Chargers and, though Dhoni led the rearguard action, Chennai lost by 31 runs. Dhoni then rescued the innings from a top-order collapse against Kolkata and his 109-run stand with S Badrinath was instrumental in the 55-run victory. Hayden unleashed the Mongoose against Delhi, ensuring his aggression made up for Dhoni's absence, while chasing a stiff target. But Hayden's dismissals in the 30s during the next two games, coupled with Dhoni's injury-forced absence, was too much for Chennai to cope with and they were beaten by both Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Yes, that is the bottom line. The key players are relied upon. Certainly with injuries, they are relied upon more," coach Stephen Fleming said.

Such is Dhoni's versatility that his absence deprives the line-up of someone expert at building, as well as finishing, the innings. The other man capable of destroying bowling during the final overs is Justin Kemp, but he too missed the last game with a back injury. "We do miss a finisher," Fleming said, ahead of the match against Mumbai Indians. "We saw that in the game against Punjab and we played the extra batter yesterday [George Bailey against Bangalore]. But if Dhoni comes back, the balance of the side changes again. We have got injury problems at the moment: we have lost Flintoff, Oram and now Kemp. So that is a big dent to the way we play our game."

Fleming hoped Dhoni would return to lead the side in Mumbai but said a decision would be made on match day. "[Dhoni] Looks good," he said. "He is back with the team and he is training today. But we will make a call after training today, and then again tomorrow, to see how his arm reacts to doing a bit more work. We are happy at this stage, we hope he'll be playing."

When asked if Dhoni would play as a wicketkeeeper, Fleming said they were "looking at full fitness." "There is obviously a responsibility to Indian cricket as well, so there are a lot interested (in his fitness). Like I said, we will be cautious but we are optimistic."

The floating middle order is another of Chennai's problems, one acknowledged by VB Chandrasekar, one of the team's coaches. Dhoni's absence has led to a change of plans but to make someone like M Vijay, who is more assured while opening against the new ball, bat at three different positions in five matches suggests there is uncertainty about the role each batsman must perform. The captain cannot return soon enough.