MS Dhoni stressed the importance of hitting intentionally in the middle overs
Not for the first time after a loss this season, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming pointed to the fact that the current team was built on the idea of playing half the season at Chepauk.
Fleming and MS Dhoni, the tournament’s only inseparable captain-coach duo, know a winning squad when they see it. Amid age-related criticism since CSK’s return in 2018, the pair orchestrated a foolproof plan to maximize favorable terms after having meticulously built their sides at auction.
In 2019, six of their nine victories came at Chepauk, while in the 2018 season they also made full use of ‘home’ conditions (1 win in Chennai, 5 in Pune).
So, for the third consecutive auction, they entered with a similar strategy. Piyush Chawla, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood and R Sai Kishore entered, each perhaps seen as a worthy endorsement of some of the established stars or as a means of achieving combination flexibility.
Although the buying patterns of the other franchises indicated an attempt to identify new ways to crack the IPL code, CSK could not be blamed for continuing to choose according to Chepauk’s plan. Except, there was a very clear requirement for a hitting recruit after Dhoni was vocal and candid about his average order not being great during the 2019 season.
Saturday’s chase, CSK’s seventh in as many games, was calling for a mid-order table change (like Delhi Capitals’ Marcus Stoinis, for example), to even give its finalists a chance to catch a late heist. in search of RCB 169/4.
“Hitting has been a bit worrying and it was evident today as well. We have to do something about it. We can’t keep showing up … it’s almost the same thing that’s happening, maybe the individuals are different. “Dhoni said after his team’s fifth loss of the season.
Barring the opening day game, CSK has been easy to push into a bottomless pot if the higher order is ruled out early. In the effort to deepen the games, a concept they feel in every fiber of their being, CSK have let hesitation and a passive approach creep into their game that has only backfired this season.
If there was any message that they needed a quick move and set up a slightly simpler platform for their finalists, it didn’t reach Ambati Rayudu and rookie N Jagadeesan.
RCB’s cautious approach to the slow Dubai course for 15 of the 20 overs should have given CSK a reason to conduct their pursuit very differently. Even after a nervous start that put them 10 runs behind RCB at the end of the PowerPlay, they had a chance to take an infused route down the middle to get the game out of reach for Virat Kohli. But that intention, which is expected to miraculously multiply tenfold upon death, was nonexistent.
Instead, CSK went from 26-for-2 in 6 overs to 96-for-3-in-15. Twice in this span, Fleming retired and had lively conversations with his hitters during the strategic timeout. If there was any message of need for a quick move and to establish a slightly simpler platform for their finalists, it did not reach Ambati Rayudu and rookie N Jagadeesan.
“Our hitting has lacked, you can say, a little bit of power from sixth onwards. Individuals get tentative and no matter how much confidence I’m giving them, they ultimately have to have their own plan for how to play. I haven’t been able to adapt and plan for bowlers ages 6 to 14, “Dhoni felt.
“What I like is a little more intensity in the intermissions. We have a lot of hitting. Although we are recovering quite well, we are ending up with a lot to do in the back,” Fleming said. at the post-game press conference, echoing his employer’s thoughts.
RCB’s wobble in the middle stage was enough for Kohli to implement his risk-free approach of advancing from one to two, before reaching a tipping point at the end of the 15 overs, from where his team connected 74 of the last. 30 balls. That CSK reached the same point with a similar total (96/3 to 95/4 RCB) was further proof of a failed chase.
While Kohli had to follow a conservative path for as long as he could because the windows fell down around him, Rayudu and Jagadeesan had the advantage of having all of CSK’s lower order riches: Dhoni, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. , to follow suit. And yet there were no signs of urgency, which eventually ended the CSK pursuit.
“I think it’s better to play backwards – play the big shots and even if you come out that’s fine because we can’t leave too many after the 15th or 16th. That just puts too much pressure on the downside – ordering hitters,” Dhoni offered.
“There are too many holes in the boat and when you try to cover one, the water flows from another. But our main concern is still the batting department. In the next games we will try to be more expressive.”
Last season, at this stage, CSK had six wins from seven games and a playoff spot in sight. What they have now, a long way from 2019, is Dhoni’s frankness and knowledge of what could be his first step towards course correction.
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