CSK vs SRH: As CSK suffered their fourth consecutive loss, head coach Stephen Fleming struggled to pinpoint one specific component of their game that had gone wrong thus far.
Fleming believes the team has been uneasy as a result of repeated losses, lacking confidence, and ending in a far second place in each game. The seeds of this latest humiliation were planted early by Kane Williamson’s in-game smarts with match-ups and utilization of the unbalanced pitch dimensions at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday evening.
CSK vs SRH: The bait that was given to Uthappa
Robin Uthappa has only played in one of CSK’s three prior matches as a Powerplay biffer this season. Due to the absence of Faf du Plessis and the necessity for improved team combinations, he was forced to open, where he had easy access to the first six overs, allowing him to maximize his big-hitting range. The stage was set for Kane Williamson to deliver that early impetus on which CSK could build and pace their innings once he decided to bowl.
With his choice of bowler, Williamson offered Uthappa another reason to tee off immediately in the fourth over. The CSK opener had previously hammered 49 off 26 balls against Washington Sundar, but Saturday presented a different challenge. Washington, armed with a longer leg-side boundary, put one up to tempt Uthappa into attempting the slog sweep, but it was bowled outside the off stump. Uthappa went for it nonetheless, but he only managed to hit it as far as the long-on fielder.
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CSK vs SRH: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s left arm batting trouble
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s dismal start, particularly in the absence of Faf du Plessis, has been a major source of frustration for CSK this season. The opener has been shaky throughout, keen to get past the Powerplay and stamp his dominance against spin in the middle-overs, as he did in his orange-cap winning season last year.
SRH came prepared with two left-arm fast bowling options – Ruturaj’s Achilles heel in the first six overs – and struck gold. Marco Jansen didn’t bother the CSK opener, who was even allowed a cross-seamer half-volley to drive through covers, but T Natarajan in the sixth over put him out. The left-arm pacer came on for the sixth over after not bowling in the first six overs against LSG and got an inswinger first ball to breach Ruturaj’s bat-pad gap.
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CSK vs SRH: Markram’s kick for Moeen Ali
Williamson utilized the dimensions to lure the CSK hitters to take chances once more. When Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube joined Moeen Ali in the midst of the 15th over, Williamson turned to Aiden Markram’s soft off-spin. CSK were 100 for 3 at the time, and an over like that felt like the perfect release point, with a well-set Moeen and the in-form Dube steering them out of trouble.
However, in order to clear the leg-side fence once more, they had to hit the longer boundary. Moeen saw the risk as prudent, and he sent a short ball over long-on. Moeen was forced to try it again by the need for quick runs, but Markram went full and the CSK batter failed to reach the requisite distance on his swing across the line.
CSK vs SRH: Trying to stay out of Dube’s hitting streak
After another over, Natarajan did a good job of staying out of Dube’s hitting arc. The lanky left-hander, who leads CSK in runs this season, has produced a number of stirring knocks in which he smashed a slew of soaring sixes down the leg side and down the ground. Natarajan bowled on the off-stump channel, and the left-only hander’s chance for runs was on the off-side, which was now the larger fence. Dube intended to hit on Natarajan’s line and pace to simply guide the ball to the third man fence, but Williamson had a fielder ready inside the circle in case such a decision was made.
SRH’s well-laid bowling strategies scuppered CSK’s batting flow throughout and eventually left them with an undefendable total, despite CSK getting through the 150-run threshold with 37 runs from the last three overs.
