Chennai Super Kings were outplayed in all departments as they lost to Delhi Capitals by 44 runs in the IPL 2020 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. This was their second loss in three games in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League and they are currently in fifth position. This is the third time after 2012 and 2016 that MS Dhoni finds himself in this position. The bowling lost momentum in the middle and death overs while the batting once again failed to click. Murali Vijay struggled while the rest of the middle order failed yet again barring Faf du Plessis. MS Dhoni once again came lower down the order and unlike the game in Sharjah against Rajasthan Royals, he could not get going even at the end.
Looking at how late Chennai Super Kings are letting the match drift into the final overs before pushing for a win, Virender Sewhag has suggested that Chennai Super Kings try a different method. On his official Twitter handle, Sehwag trolled Chennai Super Kings by saying, “Chennai ke batsman simply not getting going. Glucose chadwaake aana padega next match se batting karne (Chennai Super Kings batsmen not getting going. They may have to have glucose in the next match while batting to get a boost)”.
Problems for CSK
This was the second time that Chennai Super Kings failed to get the accelerator towards the end. The asking rate pressure was just too great and none of the batsmen recovered after the slow start. Dhoni’s batting position is also under scrutiny and he had said before the match that he would bat as per the team requirements.
Speaking after the match, Dhoni said the team was missing the balance Ambati Rayudu was giving them. “I don't think it was a good game for us. There was no dew, but the wicket did slow down. We are lacking a bit of steam in the batting and that hurts. The run rate keeps on mounting after such slow starts and adds pressure, we need to figure that out. We need to come back with a clearer picture, looking at the combination. Maybe, the team balance will get better once Rayudu comes back in the next game. That will give us the room to experiment with an extra bowler perhaps,” Dhoni said.
