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New Delhi: Every Chennai Super Kings (CSK) match is about their captain, their iconic superstar Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni’s sheer star quality and following makes any CSK match, in Chennai or elsewhere, something to behold as Dhoni, Thala and CSK logos and the yellow of the team envelope the stands. While all the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams have some superstars, CSK, Dhoni, and their equation with the fans is something else altogether. However, the team needs more than just this following to make up for a fair amount of lost ground in IPL 2023. They need some consistency and quality.
The match with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Chennai on Wednesday once more showed that they are in dire need of some support from their middle-order batters when it comes to testing situations.
CSK have enjoyed quite a bit of success from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, but as was evident against RR, a little too much was left to do for the finishers in Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni. Even the superstar fell short.
The middle-order must click for the side to chase down totals which can be challenging and this match was classic case. Conway scored at a 131.6 strike-rate and a rejuvenated Ajinkya Rahane was also on the job with an impressive 163.2 rate.
But then, three others in the middle-order – Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu – provided next to nothing as the RR spinners got on the job.
So much so that even the charisma and sheer finishing power of Dhoni was not enough as CSK fell short by just three runs.
CSK previously had a deceptively easy win over Mumbai Indians (MI), but they weren’t chasing as many. Rahane was unstoppable that day and the middle-order also had some say.
When everyone chips in, as was the case against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), CSK can be like their days of domination.
One can argue that this applies to all sides – Royal Challengers Bangalore revolve around Virat Kohli, MI around Rohit Sharma and so on – but as we mentioned before, the CSK fans believe that Dhoni can do everything.
Sadly, that may not always be the truth. Dhoni is a class apart, but the days of conjuring magic may not be as regular as they used to be, as age does have an effect. He is still a strategic genius, but with a dodgy middle-order and a bowling attack that is middle at best, he needs more than that to see CSK perform consistently.
The fans and faith notwithstanding, the match as to be won on the ground. As it turned out, faith doesn’t always move mountains.
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