Home
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were back to their best on the way to their win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Sunday, May 1. The defending champions began the match on the front foot when openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway notched a massive 182-run partnership which set up a formidable total of 202 runs for SRH that put CSK in a position of comfort. They went on to restrict their opponents to just 189 and seal the win.
Their victory on Sunday could not have come at a better time. Prior to the match against SRH, the Chennai-based franchise announced that Ravindra Jadeja gave up the team's captaincy to MS Dhoni given their rut and his own personal form.
CSK began the season on a dismal note, losing their first four matches before beating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with another spirited batting performance. A loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) was followed by a win over bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI), and then another defeat to Punjab Kings.
Against SRH, Gaikwad was at his best with a brilliantly scored 99 off 57 balls with a strike rate of 173.68. He did not even spare newly unearthed speedster Umran Malik, battering him for three sixes and a four in two overs. Meanwhile, New Zealander Conway played an unbeaten knock of 85 runs off 55 balls with a plethora of boundaries, precisely eight fours, and four sixes.
Although SRH put up a fight, they were nowhere near close to chasing down the target, falling short by 13 runs. Only West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran kept the fight going with an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls.
Under MS Dhoni, can CSK make it to the playoffs after beating SRH?
Yes, CSK can qualify for playoffs, provided they keep up their current form and results in other matches go their match. They have three wins from nine games this season. They need to win their remaining five matches to stay afloat in the tournament. If they win five on the trot, they will jump to 16 points from eight wins.
That will put them ahead in the race of qualifications. What they need to ensure is that they win the remaining five games with good margins to improve their negative Net Run Rate, which is currently -0.407. Because if more than one team has 16 points and there is only one slot, then NRR will play a big role in deciding who makes the cut
