Kings and Super Kings face checkmate
We need to get a lot of things right. It is the professionalism. We need to take our catches and not bowl no-balls. We can control them and may be we are getting too relaxed MS Dhoni, CSK captain
DUBAI: Hit hard by a start that least defines it, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would be desperate to find answers to its predicament when it takes on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 match here on Sunday.
CSK (2 points) finds itself in unknown territory, sitting at the bottom of the points table after three successive losses. Despite having the resources, nothing has worked for MS Dhoni-led Super Kings.
CSK made three changes to its playing eleven for Friday’s game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but neither the comeback of Ambati Rayudu nor the presence of Dwayne Bravo could lift the gloom. A misfiring top-order, barring Faf du Plessis, combined with inadequate run-flow in the middle overs as well as the habit of leaving way too much for the climax proved to be its bane.
To turn things around, all three departments will have to come together. When the result goes a team’s way, many of the frailties get hidden. But when the opposite happens, even the smallest of things gets exposed.
The desperation was palpable on Dhoni’s face after the latest defeat against Hyderabad. “We need to get a lot of things right. It is the professionalism. We need to take our catches and not bowl no-balls. We can control them and may be we are getting too relaxed,” said Dhoni.
CSK will need one of its top-order batsmen to put runs on the board and take care of its run-rate in the middle overs. Dhoni has batted under tremendous pressure in the initial games. By the time he goes after the attack, the asking rate would soar to unprecedented levels.
If the team can manage enough runs in the middle overs, it will give some cushion to Dhoni and other capable batsmen down the order. But the job would be easier said than done since Super Kings is up against a Punjab side (2 points) which has been batting well, though results have not exactly gone in its favour.
Skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been top-notch, scoring close to 250 runs each. However, the form of Glenn Maxwell is a cause for concern.