Chennai Super Kings have finished half of their league games at IPL 2020, but with just two wins from seven matches, the gap between them and the top half of the points table is widening. Captain MS Dhoni compared the problems his team has had to those of a sinking ship, causing too many leaks to plug at one time. Dhoni said it was hitting, however, that needed to intensify more than bowling.
“The hitting has been a bit worrying, and I think it was very evident today as well,” Dhoni told host broadcaster Star after losing to the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 37 runs on Saturday. “I feel like we have to do something about it because you can’t keep showing up and it’s almost the same thing that happens … maybe the individuals are different.
“I feel like our hitting has been lacking a bit, you can say power … more from sixth onwards. Sometimes individuals can get a bit hesitant. No matter how much confidence I’m giving them, they ultimately need. go out. and they have their own plan. What is the shot they like to play against specific players that they would face? I guess that’s where maybe we haven’t adapted or made plans on how we’ll actually look to go after bowlers who will be playing from sixth to maybe 14 “.
Dhoni’s point that hitting in the middle is an area of particular concern is borne out by the numbers. The Super Kings’ run rate of 7.19 in that span, from over 7 to 14, is the second worst in the league, with only 6.56 for the Royal Challengers being lower. However, the Royal Challengers have improved their game in other areas, leading them to win four of six games.
The Super Kings have had to plug the leaks with their bowling pins and batting in general.
“I feel like our hitting has lacked a bit, you can say power. Sometimes people can get a little bit hesitant. No matter how much confidence you give them, ultimately they need to go out and have their own plan.”
MS Dhoni
“I feel like when it comes to our bowling we have shown that we can restrain the opposition,” Dhoni said. “[But] either we are giving too many in the first six, or we are giving too many in the last four. It’s just that there are too many holes in the boat, and you keep plugging one or the other and the water flows out the other side. We need to act together. Everything must work in the same game to get the desired result. I feel like once we get some results in our favor, it will be a little different for us. “
However, hitting remained the main area of focus, with Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming emphasizing the need to show more intention. The Super Kings have chased in each of their seven games thus far, but have been unable to maintain the required running pace in their losses. Also on Saturday, the required execution rate went from 10.28 at the end of the power game to 14.90 when the 15th was finished. At the time, Dhoni had just come in and the big hit trio of Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo was still in the dugout. When they struck death, the windows fell in a group as they sought to address the rising order rate.
“I think it is better that they play the other way around, where they seek to play the most important shots [all through]”Dhoni said.” Even if you go out, that’s fine, you know, because we really can’t drop too many after the 15th or 16th. That just puts extra pressure on the hitters that are lower in the order. That is something we can do in the next games. It’s something we have to look at.
“Our main concern is still the hitting department where we have not been very consistent. In the next games we will try to be a little more expressive on the field. I prefer to go out at 17 or 18 instead of having grounds. [in hand] but at the end of the 20th, you really don’t have enough on the board. “
Against the Royal Challengers, the pair of N Jagadeesan (in their IPL debut) and Ambati Rayudu recorded 64 runs for the third wicket, but with only 7.38 runs per over. Fleming echoed Dhoni’s points that the team left too much to do late in the innings.
“If we don’t get a good start at the top with our two foreign players (Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis), we are falling into a hole,” Fleming said. “So we are looking for positive solutions. What I would like is a little more intensity through the intermissions. We have a lot of hitting, and while we recover quite well, we are ending up with too much to do in the back. So trying to loosen the shackles and let those at the end have a little more freedom.
“The other point is that we have chased all the games and the wickets are getting slower. It’s not easy, once you lose the wickets … But I would like to see a little more intention. Not that you can keep swinging – there are some challenging bowling, but what we’re looking for is intention. “
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