M. S. Dhoni, just sticking to cricketing brainwork, was of the opinion that it had been the pitch likely for chasing. And he said so when he lost a game chasing. If we look back to the very start of the tournament, Mumbai scored a total which was a little bit higher than the average one. While due came into play, they chased it down, well ignoring the slowness of the pitch.

 

Chasing started chasing M.S and his company for long and somehow, they could not get rid of that. If they beat MI in the first game, CSK failed to get over the line against two genuine rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.

 

So on Tuesday, they bat first and registered their victory batting first. In the last seven games they never batted first. As the tournament got past the halfway stage, Dhoni went with the current situation. As the wicket was getting slow in the second half, he jumped into using the toss in favour of the statistics.

 

Kolkata knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings are among the teams which are always experimenting their batting orders. Chennai moved Sam Curran up the order and he opened against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Was it a gamble or part of a game-plan? I’ll go with the second option. Sam Curran had been one who was always in the game. In every department, he is very successful so far in regard to his contribution to the team.

 

Faf du Plessis went for a duck last night. But he, in CSK camp,  is the only batsman who has the form to keep the opposition captain guessing. Though CSK tested Currun in the opening, Shane Watson, probably, will come back to replace him in the next game. Jadeja and Bravo just getting back into the rhythm.

Marked problems in the camp….

• Inconsistencies in the batting unit.

  Two or three among the first five have to play regularly and they must have the method of progress. They have to decide when to escalate and go after the bowlers hard.

• Lack of young players…

  We found a little bit of laziness in the camp. One cannot be sure of what is going in the minds of the players. So a determined CSK camp is very necessary.

 

Plus points in the side….

• Experience and M. S. Dhoni…

  There are plenty of experienced players in CSK line-up. Watson, du Plessis, Dhoni are capable of taking CSK home single-handedly. Dwane Bravo and Rabindra Jadeja together can take the responsibility of eight overs, anytime, while they are very dependable in the middle order also.

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain…

  Dhoni can read the situation best and he has the knowledge how to use his domestic bowlers like Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar. It’s for the same reason that he is going without any premier overseas bowler. With his special cricketing idea, he is very accurate with his field placing and bowling changes.

 

What is next….

If they get their going with the victory over SRH, they can do better than expected. At the top order one must go after the bowlers. Otherwise, it’s going to be tough against Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

K’s conclusion…

Watson should be given a free licence in team meeting to go hard against the fast bowlers from the very start. Bravo and Jadeja have to deliver more disciplined performances.