IPL 2018 | Chennai Super Kings' chariot moving on wobbly wheels

By Subhayan Dutta, SportsCafe Editor

04/23/2018

Chennai Super Kings are currently on a roll with four wins from five games, with their latest one coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and they sit atop the table with eight points. However, ask MS Dhoni and he’ll reveal that the close neck-to-neck encounters are way more worrisome than entertaining.

Good form has this powerful deception - it beautifully papers over cracks to keep them out of everyone’s purview for a moment. Over the course of history, this has been a huge reason why most teams have failed to handle failure efficiently. And as the tapes come off and the schisms widen, people more than often tend to get involved in the blame game. Returning to the IPL after two years, following the 2013 betting scandal, CSK fans expected some big, relevant names to be picked by the franchise at the mega-auctions. But much to their frustration, the Stephen Fleming headed management was found stuck to their old generals, compared to the likes of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders - who had progressed in the last two years in their absence.

CSK ended up having Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, and Faf du Plessis alongside the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja - all of them considered a spent force in their domestic and national side, fighting to cling on to their identity for a little longer. Their strategy wasn’t maddening either, as CSK had almost the same core of players in the last five years and somehow it always clicked. While they were a side to reckon with in 2013, when they ended up as the runners-up, by 2015 the squad had lost the aura. CSK were just a bunch of heroes, who looked great together with people even fancying few extraordinary knocks in a season, but that was it. However, Dhoni managed to get over the ropes again that year, to everyone’s surprise, before eventually going down against Mumbai Indians in the final.

Hence, the 2018 side isn’t brought together on Chennai’s popular demand as is widely believed, but on a slender hope that they could lift the title one last time with sheer willpower. Experts and critics, however, didn’t leave a shred of reasoning to point out the aspects - lack of game time, fitness on the field, and form –the yellow army will be outmatched in by the opponents. Two weeks into the league and the Whistlepodu brigade would definitely argue that the MSD-led side has got the better of almost every opponent they have faced so far, answering prominently to their harsh critics. But, a closer look into their results, and all their fears would find ground as Jarrod Kimber brilliantly pointed it out recently that CSK have some of the slowest starters in the league. The fact that they have kept this concern at the shores is terrifying to think about because when it comes and believe me it will, the waves would not only break thousands of hearts but also the team.

The top batsmen, upon whom the side relies to score the runs are - Shane Watson, Dhoni, Raina, Bravo, Sam Billings and Faf du Plessis. And a closer look at how fast they generally start firing all cylinders should correctly indicate the measure of efficacy they still possess. In a format like T20, where dot balls hurt more than wickets, Dhoni boasts of strike-rate of 76 in his first five balls, Shane Watson 90, crowd-favourite Dwayne Bravo can go as far as only 110, Faf du Plessis 90, and new hero Sam Billings is about 98.

While many would argue that the above names could be unstoppable once they get going, it is one of the stupidest probabilities to put your bets on. Though everyone enjoys the blistering knocks here and there from Kings XI Punjab’s Chris Gayle, deep down they all know that Gayle-storm wouldn’t come everyday and Ravichandran Ashwin would desperately hope someone else stands up when that happens.

Not so surprisingly for CSK, however, MSD has found a match-winner in almost every match they have played so far. It has been a knack for the most decorated side in IPL to find unlikely heroes in the most crucial of junctures in their campaign. In the five games CSK have played so far, four of them have gone down right to the wire with three of them coming on a winning cause. Their only convincing and comprehensive victory came in the match against a lackluster Rajasthan Royals performance, who lost by 64 runs to register their fourth biggest defeat in IPL.

While their first match against Mumbai Indians saw Dwayne Bravo scoring 30-ball 68 to get them to a last-ball win, the second match saw Billings pull off a brilliant 56 runs in 23 balls in his debut to win against KKR that went to the 20th over, again. The strategy, however, faltered against KXIP as MSD’s seemingly heroic innings fell just, while Bravo had to put all his experienced to stop SRH in the last game who ended just four runs short. There is nothing better than watching a solo performer taking his side home with a brilliant knock, but on a collective basis, it is equally worrying. In an age where every batsman’s weakness is thrown open on a tablet in opponent’s dugout that is well aware of which vein to pull, sooner or later, living dangerously won’t be an option for CSK anymore.

A look at the cracks would further magnify the lake of lava that CSK are sailing on. CSK are filled with players who are aged and extremely injury prone, even if we don’t take their flailing consistency into account. It has been only five games, and two weeks and Suresh Raina has already missed two games with injuries, Dhoni is struggling with his back, and Kedar Jadhav is already out for the entire season. The two-month-long tournament will be a long shot for the likes of Watson and Bravo to continue unhindered too, given that they have arrived at the back Big Bash League and Pakistan Super League.

Another issue, which was totally uncalled for at the start of the season was the change of venue. The spin-friendly Chepauk turf was a prime reason CSK went for Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, and Mitchell Santner at the auction. While Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune has its days for spinners, it is more batting friendly and the inexperienced likes of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar won’t be Dhoni’s go-to bowlers for long. All these faults will spring up like a volcano when CSK run out of solo performers and the management run of remedies.

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