IPL 2022: CSK has shown signs of recovery, but flawed batting strategy doesn’t allow prolonged revival – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Barring one game, every time a team has won the toss, they’ve opted to bowl in the 2022 Indian Premier League. This routine has become equally predictable as the sun rising every day. Weirdly enough, it is a monotony broken by the variation in pitch conditions at any one venue during this two-month T20 extravaganza.

The DY Patil Stadium has provided difference in conditions across two pitches. The same can be said for the Wankhede, with a greater variance in dewy conditions no longer supporting the teams batting second. So much so, that the last five games at this hallowed ground have been won by the side batting first. This statistic is sure to not escape attention, and there is every possibility we might see an adventurous captain take a different direction, particularly after winning the toss at the Wankhede.

Chennai Super Kings failed to realise this on Monday night, as Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and opted to bowl. It was a massive favour to the Punjab Kings, for they littered the line-up with power-hitting batsmen without identifying a particularly incisive batting order. Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Bhanuka Rajpaksa, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone – how do you begin to identify what batting spots would be most effective for each of them?

Rajpaksa and Bairstow is the odd couple herein. Punjab bought them as replacements for each other, precisely for the same role. Rajpaksa stole the limelight with some intense hitting in the powerplay overs, while Bairstow was away in the Caribbean. When he returned, Rajpaksa was unceremoniously dumped and Bairstow managed only 41 runs in four matches. With two losses in its last three games, and four overall, Punjab had to make a change.

Even so, it was a bit unfathomable to see both Rajpaksa and Bairstow playing, and as such, it was a highly imbalanced Punjab batting line-up. Sample this. Punjab was placed at 103-1 in 13 overs, and yet it couldn’t accelerate earlier. Dhawan and Rajpaksa took their time on a two-paced pitch, and both were guilty of not attacking early especially with Bairstow and Livingstone yet to come. The scorecard eventually did reach 187-4, but from where it stood after the 13th, it should have been an easy 200. This is where Punjab’s batting strategy was utterly flawed.

It proved to be sufficient on the day though, for Chennai is a flawed opponent at present. Hampered by poor auction strategy, both its batting and bowling selections are heavily compromised. The likes of Maheesh Theekshana and Mukesh Choudhary have tried to resuscitate the bowling, and it has worked to an extent. But two wins out of eight games is hardly anything to write about, and elimination from the tournament is looming large at this point. Much of it is to be blamed on CSK’s haphazard auction strategy, which has laid low its batting plans.

It almost sounds like bleating drums when one repeatedly points out the non-retention of Faf du Plessis as the main root of CSK’s problems. They lost a potential captain, a stable opener and a reliable run-scoring option. The person responsible for this mindlessly fatal call should be sacked, re-hired and sacked again – that’s how poor a decision it was. Again though, it is an easy blame-game.

The bigger problem is that CSK’s retention strategy has completely fallen flat. Ruturaj Gaikwad may or may not be a one-season wonder, but he is surely a ghost of his 2021 self. It is a struggle to watch him bat at present, and it can only be imagined how much of a struggle it must be for him to fight it out at the crease as the world watches. It is almost as if he is trying to feel his way into form, trying to search for that sweet spot on the bat which could fetch runs. It is a sad sight at the moment.

Then, there is Moeen Ali, dumped out of the playing eleven after five games. Retained for ₹8 crore, he has scored only 87 runs and fetched zero wickets. That retention decision seemed sound on evidence of his performances in the 2021 T20 World Cup, as well as last IPL season, but it has cost Chennai heavily. That money could have re-bought du Plessis, even if that boat has long sailed now.

CSK’s desperation from this failed retention manoeuvre is seen in how they have tried to mould Mitchell Santner in that role. Coming in for Ali, for two matches running against Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, Santner has been sent in at number three. It is a calamitous strategy call – what are they trying to achieve? Ask Santner to throw his bat around and maybe something might come out of it? This is nothing but wishful thinking, and a pitiful reflection of the state CSK is in.

Wouldn’t Shivam Dube be a better option for number three, if CSK were indeed looking to force some quick runs? He is in terrific hitting form, and only needs more encouragement. It would have been a move akin to promoting Ali to number three last season, after it worked out like a charm. Even Ambati Rayudu would have been a better option. Such a glaring error in batting strategy only reflects poorly on the decision-making in the Chennai camp.

Rayudu, in particular, is a marked case this season. Getting him back for ₹6.75 crore was a no-brainer, for he still holds his own in that middle order. His form has been on the upswing in last three games – 78, 40 and 46 – and he is finding the aerial route with more success. It is down to playing time, for he is not playing much cricket elsewhere. The same can be said about Robin Uthappa – not much cricket elsewhere, and this duo (like MS Dhoni) finds their form during the IPL itself.

Again then, it begs the question – just what was CSK thinking? Building a team around Uthappa and Rayudu cannot possibly work. At this stage in their careers, they are place-holding batsmen at best. They will give you 500 runs between them across the season, if it is a good one. But these 500 runs won’t win you the tournament. You need atleast two exceptional batsmen to challenge through an IPL season, and aim for the title – a strategy CSK is well versed with. It banked on Gaikwad, who has come a cropper but who is that second batsman?

In light of a failed retention strategy, poor auction plans and worse batting form from two retained players, Chennai is only left to make-do of whatever it is left with. With bad selection and strategic calls to boot, you have to wonder who is really at fault here – Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Stephen Fleming or someone even higher up?

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