Aakash Chopra was of the opinion that it will be extremely tough for 6th placed Chennai Super Kings to make it to the playoffs. CSK lost against RCB by 37 runs as RCB skipper Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 90. RCB scored 169/4, which was quite an achievable target.
But CSK made a mess of it and could only 132/8 with Ambati Rayudu top-scoring with 42 off 40 balls, and debutant N Jagadeesan scored 33 off 28 balls. CSK’s openers started slowly as CSK lost to RCB whose all-rounder Chris Morris playing his first game picked three wickets conceding 19 runs.
Aakash Chopra: It Looks Bleak For MS Dhoni’s CSK To Reach Playoffs
Apart from the duo, Shane Watson’s 14 in 18 balls and MS Dhoni’s 10, none of the other players could reach double digit scores. CSK started extremely slowly which put pressure on them as they crossed 100 runs in only 15th-16th over. Sam Curran scored a duck and both Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo scored seven runs.
Still 70 runs was gettable but Chris Morris picked three crucial wickets of all-rounders Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo in quick succession which hampered their run chase. The 17th over from Chris Morris saw only three runs and the last over by Isuru Udana saw only six runs.
“Mahi’s Chennai, where do you go from here, it looks very very bleak. There was hope that CSK would do well as they are halfway through the season, playing their seventh match, and they had won only two.”
“It means they would have to climb Mt. Everest to qualify for the playoffs. If they win six out of the remaining seven matches they will confirm their spot, and will have an outside chance if they win five. But do they have the ability to win five out of seven is the question that will be asked.”
“They made a change by picking Jagadeesan in place of Kedar Jadhav. Their bowling was still okay as they had kept RCB in check until a point. It seemed that they will be able to restrict RCB to around 150 but Kohli’s blitz took them beyond 160.”
“It was a total they could have chased, there was no turn on the pitch, the ball was coming nicely onto the bat but the way they have batted, it was the first time in the tournament that a team did not hit a single six in the first 15 overs,” Aakash Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra said CSK will have to win at least six matches to qualify for playoffs out of the next seven games. They can have an outside chance if they win even five but their middle order is not performing according to expectations, according to Aakash Chopra. Aakash Chopra said they have a herculean task to achieve.
N Jagadeesan played in place of out of form Kedar Jadhav who was criticized for the loss to KKR in the previous game. Kedar Jadhav scored only 58 runs at a dismal average of 19.33 in 6 appearances. Narayan Jagadeesan, a wicketkeeper who was among runs in Tamil Nadu circuit replaced him and scored 33.
Aakash Chopra: CSK Are In Dire Straits But Still Optimistic As CSK Were In Similar Situation In 2010 Too
CSK are currently at the 6th spot with two wins and five losses and having four points in bag but going into the playoffs will be extremely tough as they are yet to find a winning combination.
“It tells that it is not working out for CSK and that they are actually in dire straits right now.”
“Rayudu tried to play slowly to get back his form, which is understandable. Jagadeesan was playing his first match, so you cannot be too critical.”
“Dhoni is trying but he is not able to do it.”
“Earlier they used to lose by small margins but now their margin of defeats have also increased.”
“Can Chennai bounce back from here, I don’t have an answer for it. I am not looking very optimistic although it had happened in 2010 as well when they had lost five of their first seven matches and then went on to win the tournament but it is not 2010, it is 2020,” he added.
In 2010 though there was a similar situation as CSK lost seven matches and won seven matches but qualified for playoffs by having a better run rate than RCB,DC and KKR. RCB qualified as they were placed fourth while CSK was placed 3rd.
CSK won IPL 2010 besides winning IPL 2011 and IPL 2018 and will look to reach playoffs by being in top four of table.