Twice champions, the Chennai Super Kings have once again entered the Playoffs stage of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2015, this time wanting to clinch the coveted trophy for the third time. The MS Dhoni-led side finished the group stage at the top of the points table and were the first team to qualify for the last phase of the tournament. Although they will miss the reliable Brendon McCullum in the forthcoming games, the team is prepared to cruise forward. Speaking about Michael Hussey, who is likely to open against the Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, coach Stephen Fleming said, “McCullum’s absence will impact a lot. He’s an excellent player. We had known about it for some time. Introducing Mike Hussey in the last game, even though he did not make a major contribution, was important. Dwayne Smith has got a very good record here. We have been planning for this for some time. We would have liked to have given Mike Hussey a bit more time. We were just not able to get that final win to give us the luxury of introducing players. I have every confidence in Mike Hussey. He’s been one of our most consistent performers over the years and the way he trains suggests he would be there and thereabouts.” In absence of McCullum and with Hussey yet to get in the groove, the team will be looking at Suresh Raina to hold the innings together. Speaking about the left-hand batsman and his form, the coach said, “Looking at his high standards over the years he’s due (for a big score). It’s not that he’s been batting badly or practicing badly, he’s been in excellent touch. It’s about just converting those into a score of note. And the last innings he played was good as he saw the game through and he likes playing at this ground. He’s one of those players we are hopeful will stand up. Big players and big occasions win those matches. He’s certainly one of those. He’s done it for us a number of times He’s one guy we are attuned to. The beauty of this team is we have several players like that. Certainly Suresh Raina, with the absence of McCullum, will look to be the mainstay.” Speaking about the forthcoming match against the Rohit Sharma-led side who have once again sneaked into the final four after a poor start to the tournament this season, he reflected, “It’s a tough game, because now it becomes home and away rather than a semi-final at a neutral venue. It’s a home and away game and you just find little things that work against you. We need to be smart and back ourselves. It’s a great occasion - Mumbai against Chennai. It’s a difficult game and a tough place to win but that’s what we are here for. We didn’t expect an easy game in a playoff match and we have got a tough one.” Further, discussing the pressure of playing at the next stage, he added, “It’s about dealing with pressure. The beauty of being in qualifiers is that it gives another chance and that just helps calm the nerves. It’s a fine line. We saw David Warner step on the boundary and in the end it probably cost his side going through. It can be that fine, it can be one ball, it can be a small moment, a bit of brilliance and that can be the difference between winning the tournament or going home, and the consequence is that much more when you reach the next stage. It has been an excellent competition thus far and I think there are a couple of more twists to go. The teams that deal with the pressure and the individuals that stand up will be the difference.” “This year the competition has been very close. I think people have gotten smarter with the way they’ve been putting their teams together. Teams doing well at home tend to have an advantage. You are finding that away games are more difficult. That’s a point for us to note that major semi-finals (Playoffs) now have turned into home and away games. This makes it a little bit harder,” Fleming said.