The Chennai Super Kings lost their last match against the Gujarat Titans, making their path to the playoffs a bit tougher. With just 4 points separating six teams, the Chennai Super Kings currently sit in 4th place in the points table. Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered a rare failure on Friday as he was dismissed for a duck. He remains a key player with the bat for CSK. The form of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja at the top has been a big concern, while Daryl Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja have been quite inconsistent in the middle order. The runs have dried up for CSK, which is a big problem in the most prolific T20 tournament in history. MS Dhoni has often been sent in quite late, costing the team several attempts in the death overs. He continues to shine in the brief time he spends at the crease, but it’s clear that Dhoni is no longer the central figure (in terms of cricketing ability) in CSK. With three star players of CSK, including Mustafizur Rahman, Mathew Patirana, and Deepak Chahar, unavailable for the remainder of the season, there’s immense pressure on Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur. Samarjeet Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mitchell Santner have had their moments, but it’s evident that the CSK bowling lineup is currently very vulnerable.
The Rajasthan Royals have been one of the most dominant teams this season. With 16 points in 11 matches, the team sits in 2nd place in the points table. Much will depend on the opening partnership of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler. Although this duo gave the team a good start, they have been somewhat inconsistent in their performances. Perhaps this is due to the willingness to take risks they have both demonstrated, which is increasingly being adopted by more teams. Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag, both in brilliant form, have provided excellent support to the top-order players. Samson has scored 5 half-centuries in 11 innings, while Parag has scored 4. Both of them handle spin and medium pace brilliantly, making bowling to them a real challenge. There are a couple of big hitters lower down the order, such as Rovman Powell, but what RR lacks is a genuine all-rounder. The bowling has also been excellent. Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the team with 14 wickets, while Trent Boult and Avesh Khan have 11 wickets each. Sandeep Sharma has proven to be an excellent specialist in bowling deadly overs. The powerplay rule has been utilized very effectively by RR this season. Sanju Samson’s captaincy is also a major reason for their success.
