With a top-two finish in mind, CSK run into PBKS in a battle of opposites

If an antithesis is ever written on the paradox of the Indian Premier League, there is a good chance that Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings will take half the length. While one franchise have defied the basic virtue of T20 cricket and still emerged as one of the flagbearers of the tournament, the other have adopted many ridiculous approaches to stay relevant but still haven’t figured the right way out. 

While Chennai believe in giving their players a long rope, Punjab Kings have used 25 players this season and are the only team to make over 2 changes on an average per match. That tells a story of its own.

It’s more than just a coincidence, then, that these two sides, one panic-driven and the other panic-proof, are locking horns for their last league encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. The storylines for the match can’t be farther from the reality of the present. 

There is no incentive for Punjab in their last game of the season, as they are already virtually eliminated from the league, but they can prove to be party-poopers for the three-time champions who have lost their last two games to face the genuine threat of being out of the top two spots. 

With nothing to lose, it would be a challenge Punjab can embrace to exact the revenge of the first leg loss where only one man - Shahrukh Khan - could go past 15. Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, would do well to remember their own frailties that put them on the reverse gear in the last two games. 

CSK’s batting output on the wane

In the first leg of IPL 2021, top-order batters (No.1 to No.3) had a mean strike rate of 133.0 while the middle order (4-7) had 133.1. But since landing in UAE, it has gone down to 124.9 and 113.7 respectively. Thus it is an established fact that batting has been more difficult in the Emirates but compare with CSK’s output, it is a concern. 

In the first leg, Faf du Plessis’ difference with the mean strike rate in India was 12.4 but in the second half, it is -1.9. Only Ruturaj Gaikwad, with a positive mean difference of 20.8, has shown a great deal of improvement while everyone else has comparatively declined or stayed the same. In the first half, CSK were praised for their proactive approach, which they haven’t lost a great deal here, but others have caught up big-time. All the games from here are important from their perspective, thus it is imperative that they push the envelope in the right direction.

Dhoni above Jadeja - a self-harm move for CSK

MS Dhoni has done great things for CSK but is he worth a batter in the squad right now? CSK’s last game against DC answered that in no uncertain terms where he crawled his way to a 27-ball 18. However, it is not a one-off. All he has managed this season is 84 runs at an average of 14 and an SR of 98. Among CSK batsmen who have scored over 40 runs in the death overs, MS Dhoni is the only one who strikes at less than 195 and his SR of 122 is amongst the slowest for any batsman in the phase. The entire move feels strange because CSK have the likes of Jadeja scoring at 195 and Bravo striking at 270 in the death overs. 

While CSK have a solid top order, they can easily shield their way through till about 13th over, after which Jadeja absolutely owns the stage. Whenever he came out to bat post the 13th over since last season, he has scored at 182 and hit a boundary every four balls and CSK should ensure that he comes out to bat at the right time. Thus it makes complete cricketing sense that Jadeja bats ahead of MS. But then you never argue with CSK and their ability to go contrarian, can you?

Punjab’s obsession with overseas stars

There is no logical explanation for this. Punjab Kings have continued to go back to their overseas professionals despite having quality Indian options. Cue Adil Rashid over Ravi Bishnoi or not picking Shahrukh Khan over literally anyone else in the middle order. No bowler has contributed to PBKS wins as much as Bishnoi this season. The youngster has taken 9 wickets, the most by a PBKS bowler in wins, and has conceded at just 5.3 RPO in Punjab’s wins this season. Yet Rashid played ahead of him in their first game in the 2nd half of IPL 2021. 

Another shocking omission in the UAE leg was that of Shahrukh Khan, who impressed in the first half of IPL 2021. PBKS didn’t play him in the first 3 matches of the UAE leg, which was a surprising move given their form of middle-order throughout the season. 

The specialist overseas batters of PBKS – Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, and Aiden Markram - haven’t delivered for the team this season. None of them have bailed the team out and given consistent performances and what’s even worse is none of the overseas players from PBKS have scored a fifty this season. They are the only team where overseas batters haven’t registered a single 50+ score in IPL 2021.

Probable XIs 

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh