Chennai Super Kings have hit rock bottom after an embarrassing defeat against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Chepauk. The five-time champions have lost five matches in a row for the first time in the season as the return of MS Dhoni as captain couldn't help them escape the hammering from Knight Riders.
The batting line-up continued to falter as they looked out of options at the moment with a forgettable performance on Friday night, where they scored 103/9 playing at home. The absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the order only made things worse, as CSK were forced to sacrifice Matheesha Pathirana to use Impact Player for Deepak Hooda when they faced a collapse against the KKR spin unit. CSK lost their third match at Chepauk this year, the first time in a season in their history.
1983 World Cup-winning star Krishnamachari Srikkanth didn't hold back while criticising Chennai on social media and said the whole team is running on nostalgia. However, he offered out-of-the-box advice to them and told the think tank to go for an unsold player like Prithvi Shaw to change their fortunes, as Gaikwad has already been ruled out, and they can choose a replacement player for him.
“One of CSK's worst defeats ever. Powerplay batting looked like a rehearsal for a test match. Whole XI feels like it's running on nostalgia. Time to think out of the box, why not try some unsold players like Prithvi Shaw at this point? Would you try it? even chaos is a strategy?” Srikkanth wrote on X.
{{/usCountry}}“One of CSK's worst defeats ever. Powerplay batting looked like a rehearsal for a test match. Whole XI feels like it's running on nostalgia. Time to think out of the box, why not try some unsold players like Prithvi Shaw at this point? Would you try it? even chaos is a strategy?” Srikkanth wrote on X.
{{/usCountry}}R Ashwin struggles with the ball again!
After restricting CSK to 103/9 - this season's lowest score, KKR didn't find any difficulty chasing the paltry target. KKR cantered home in 10.1 overs, with opener Sunil Narine bludgeoning his way to a 18-ball 44 studded with two fours and five sixes. Captain Ajinkya Rahane also played his part with a solid 20 not out off 17 balls, while Quinton de Kock, the other opener, contributed 23. Rinku Singh also remained not out on 15 off 12 balls. It was another underwhelming night for CSK's big buy this season, R Ashwin, who leaked 30 runs in three overs and failed to claim any wickets.