Chennai: Having started on a winning note in a tricky chase against MI, home favourites Chennai Super Kings (CSK) comes face to face against a confident Delhi Capitals in a key IPL encounter at the Chepauk Stadium here on Saturday.
The back to back losses for CSK has been haunting the team despite coming close to overhaul the target.
But the biggest problem, the five time winners face is to get its combination and balance right.
The top order has failed to deliver losing wickets in the power play unable to force the pace
as has been done by the other teams.
The fact that CSK has been facing problems in the middle overs losing wickets at regular intervals is also a matter of concern.
The top order was yet to fire to its potential. The team management did the right thing replacing Deepak Hooda after his twin failures in the first two matches and another opener Rahul Tripathi too failed to rise to the occasion.
With exception of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra, the top order worries was more bothersome for the home team.
With tomorrow’s contest, being a day contest, the dew factor might not come into play.
But the due factor is to get its balance right both at the batting order and in bowling.
Ruturaj had won three successive tosses in the last three matches and opted to bowl first.
There is no questioning the fact that he chose to bowl in the first match as it was a fresh
edition, fresh line up and a fresh wicket and could not decipher how it could behave.
Though CSK managed to chase down the tricky target, despite the skipper’s fireworks, the loss of wickets in the middle overs was a concern. Had Mumbai Indians scored another 15 to 20 extra runs, the chase for the home would have been even more trickier.
However, two successive losses after the winning start, has halted the team’s momentum.
It had lost by a big margin to RCB at home in yet another chase that enabled RCB to break the 17-year-old jinx of recording its first win in Chennai.
Next, the loss to Rajasthan Royals in the away match by a close margin, has prompted the
team management to rejig their strategy.
First thing is they should get the top order back in form and it would be more prudent to draft in Devon Conway to partner his compatriot and in form Rachin Ravindra as opener with the skipper at No.3.
The team management should also address the issue of having a more balanced middle order that would rotate the strike in the middle overs instead of losing wickets due to poor shot selection that had cost the team dearly in the last two contests.
Pacer Khaleel Ahmed is in the nick of things giving breakthroughs in the powerplay, having taken more than 25 wickets so far in IPL, with Jamie Overton likely to retain his place. The spin department is in the safe hands of the experienced offie R.Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, with left arm spinner Noor Ahmed proving to be a vital cog in the wheel leading the purple cap table with his mesmerising variations.
A tough contest awaits the home team, while DC with two wins from two matches, including a narrow one wicket win in the last match against LSG after a convincing victory over SRH in the opening encounter, has a more balanced combination with K L Rahul and the experienced Faf Du Plessis, besides Karun Nair and Jake Fraser-McGurk with Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs lending solidity in the middle order.
The bowlers led by skipper and spinner Axr Patel have risen to the occasion and with the wicket expected to traditionally assist the spinners, the slow bowlers could be the deciding factor in the end, with CSK looking to get back its winning touch and DC keen to extend its winning momentum.
