The team’s performance and batting order, which failed to chase down the score set by the boys in red, also disappointed Shane Watson, a former CSK player and analyst. At their stronghold, Chepauk, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise suffered a heartbreaking loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Finally, Chennai’s winning run against RCB has ended. The last time RCB defeated the five-time champions at this location was during the first edition in 2008. Three-time IPL champion Shane Watson has been particularly critical of the team’s performance, expressing dissatisfaction with the home team’s choices. In addition to praising each batter’s effort, he pointed out that the team’s combinations were lacking.
Rahul Tripathi beginning the batting was one of the unfortunate choices. Despite being an excellent opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad had to enter later. Ruturaj even played a shot that was out of character, giving himself space against Hazlewood. He usually reacts and stands still, but this demonstrated that he was under duress,” Watson stated on JioHotstar.
“Deepak Hooda played every ball as though he were battling to survive; he simply isn’t up to it right now. Sam Curran is more of a No. 7 batter in my opinion, so hitting him at No. 5 was also dubious. CSK has to make some changes because their combos aren’t working right now. They run the risk of being exposed if they stick with this batting lineup,” he added.
“Dhoni ought to have batted higher,” Shane Watson said of CSK’s strategy.
The former Australian all-rounder publicly praised MS Dhoni for his explosive batting towards the finish, despite his dissatisfaction with some of the batters’ efforts. Given the circumstances of the game, Watson also thought that the previous captain of CSK ought to have entered the batting order.
“The 30 off 16 deliveries from Dhoni are exactly what CSK supporters come to see.” If he had been promoted, I would have been overjoyed. He ought to have batted before Ashwin, in my opinion. Dhoni had another 15 balls to play like this given the circumstances of the match. He has continuously demonstrated that he is still hitting brilliantly over the past two years. The former Australian legend continued, “I firmly think he ought to be moved up the order so we can witness the full scope of his abilities.”
He’s still as good at keeping wickets as ever, flicking the bails off in a flash. That indicates to me that he is as prepared as he can be and that his game is in excellent shape. CSK would have had a better chance of going over the line if they had sent him in sooner. The audience really enjoyed his performance tonight, but Watson came to the conclusion that CSK could have had a better chance of winning if he had arrived earlier.
India
