Back in action after being man-down

It’s been a good week for the Chennai Super Kings, with three consecutive victories that have seen us a step closer to a place in the semifinals. But, from a personal point of view, it’s been a time I’d rather forget. I’ve had a few queries as to why I haven’t been playing, with Murali Vijay and Mike Hussey opening the batting against the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Daredevils.

Basically, I’ve had a mystery virus that has wiped out a couple of guys, including myself and another batsman, Subramaniam Badrinath. Most of the Super Kings guys have had it, but just for a day or two. I’m just a bit concerned now for my mate Albie Morkel, as he’s picked it up, and I hope he doesn’t go through what I went through.

I went down hard with a massive fever and everything that goes with it. So, it’s been a week or so to forget, with me confined to my hotel room and doing very little else. I’ve been quite miserable, to say the least. I’ve also had to be careful about rushing back into action, as the heat in Chennai is something else and it can play havoc with a depleted immune system.

It’s a pity we don’t have access to SuperSport here, as I could have done with a bit of live rugby while I was in bed. It would have been great to see the Bulls win once again, but I’ve had to make do with following their fortunes on the likes of Twitter. Also, this last weekend there was a big schools rugby game on, with my old school Affies taking on Grey Bloem. I was chuffed to see Affies win that one and AB de Villiers and I have been communicating about that.

In my absence the guys have played well, but it’s still very congested, with six teams in with a chance of making the semifinals.

But, it was great to be back playing at last again against the Kolkata Knight Riders, even though I wasn’t a hundred percent. As you would have seen, I went in at No 4. That’s because management were very keen on a left and right-handed combination at the top of the order, followed by Suresh Raina at three and me at four.

So, it made sense to go with Hussey and Vijay again, and I was back in the position where I’ve spent most of my career. I really loved opening the batting, but it’s all about making our team as strong as possible. Ultimately, that proved the correct decision, with Hussey top-scoring with 56 and Vijay getting 36.

Fortunately, we got through against Kolkata, thanks to Dwayne Bravo hitting a six off the final ball of the game, but it was touch-and-go and we left it a little late. I got 13 from 16 balls, but like I said, I didn’t feel one hundred percent. Hopefully, I’ll start to get stronger every day from now, as we’ve got big games coming up.

About a week or so ago we set ourselves the goal of winning four consecutive games, and at the time of writing we’ve achieved three of those. So, not a bad return, and I think we are showing some form at the business end of the competition. It’s important to peak at the right time in tournaments like these.

More from me in the next week or so.