Nothing went Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) way as MS Dhoni took over as captain following Ruturaj Gaikwad's injury. CSK got off to a horrible start in the powerplay overs. They had 18 runs for two wickets on the board after five overs. After the comprehensive defeat at home, Dhoni defended the approach saying "If we start looking for 60 with our lineup it will be very difficult for us". Former CSK opener Matthew Hayden disagreed with Dhoni and said that the conservative approach will leave them playing catch-up. Hayden pointed out that it was a 180-plus wicket.
"I genuinely felt like this was a 180-plus wicket. I looked at that surface. It looked like a good surface. It was hard black soil, and you know, you hear MS Dhoni talk there about the powerplay. Simon Katich asked him a question and his response was, look, we've just got to be conservative. We've got to play, the whole 20 overs. I disagree. You know, when you're giving away 30 runs. That's exactly what happened tonight inside the powerplay. KKR was 60. CSK was 30," Hayden said on JioStar.
"30 is often a multiple of 5 times the advantage that you can afford to give away in an IPL. They're often 4 or 5 runs. KKR's last match that they lost to LSG, they lost by 4 runs, so it's so significant, I believe that CSK get into that space where they're catching up to the tournament, and they're actually leading from the front. You get caught if you play catch-up."
Hayden believes CSK still have 'good enough players'
While CSK have struggled to post big scores, Hayden feels that Shivam Dube and Dhoni have been put under pressure by the top-order batters.
"They've got good enough players. Being conservative, they're also cutting their sharp men and sharpshooters like Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni himself, who's under so much pressure at the back end and having to play catch-up. In my experience, you're not supposed to catch up. You get caught if you're thinking that way, and that's exactly what unfolded in front of us this evening," said the former Australian cricketer.
CSK are currently placed ninth in the points table with five losses from six games. Their next match is against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) away from home on April 14.