Former Indian cricket captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth didn’t hold back when he slammed the Chennai Super Kings for their poor fielding performance against the Punjab Kings. He pointed out that it’s really crucial for Chennai to sort out their bowling skills and figure out how to keep the opponent’s score under 180, as that’s about the limit of what their current batting lineup can handle. This latest match saw Chennai suffer their fourth loss in a row, coming up 18 runs short during a nail-biting chase. Punjab scored 219 runs, which was just too much for Chennai, who haven’t been able to chase scores above 180 since 2018.
Throughout the game, CSK’s fielding was a nightmare, with dropped catches that really hurt their chances. They had a shot to turn things around when Punjab was staggering at 83 for five wickets, but instead of putting the pressure on, they let their opponents get away and finish on 219. Srikkanth took to social media to express his frustration, commenting, “When you give over 130 runs from 83/5 to 219/6 and keep dropping catches, you are never going to be in a winning position, however good you try and chase!”
During the first innings, it felt like Chennai’s players were chasing shadows on the field, missing crucial chances to take wickets. The saga of dropped catches continued to haunt them, notably when Priyansh Arya was able to break loose, smashing a quick century off just 39 balls. In the opening over, Khaleel Ahmed was caught out, and Mukesh Choudhary missed an easy catch at long-off while Arya was on fire with 73 runs. CSK’s problems were far from over; they let Shashank Singh off the hook after he was dropped by Ravindra, which allowed him to hit the gas in the later overs.
Chennai did start their chase of the hefty 220 run target with some promise. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra made a solid partnership and managed to navigate the powerplay without losing a wicket for the first time this season. They quickly put together 61 runs in just over six overs, looking good against the Punjab bowlers. But things took a turn when they lost Rachin for 36 and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad for just 1, which left the team struggling in the middle overs. As the pressure built up and the required run rate soared to 17 in the closing stages, Conway was replaced by Ravindra Jadeja.
MS Dhoni gave it a good go, smashing 27 runs from just 12 balls, including a couple of massive sixes. But he fell to Yuzvendra Chahal right at the start of the final over, and that sealed the deal as CSK ended up 18 runs short of the win. Srikkanth’s main takeaway was that CSK really needs to work on keeping rival teams under 180 runs, letting everyone know on social media, It’s high time CSK does something with their bowling and restricts the opponents to less than 180 because the batting order is not set up for a score beyond that! If CSK has to make a comeback, then it all rests on their bowling, not their batting!
With four straight losses stacking up, Chennai will be looking to change their fortunes in their next game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, at their home ground in Chepauk. The pressure is on for them to get back to winning ways!
