With four defeats on the trot each, defending champions Chennai Super Kings and five-times former champions Mumbai Indians stand on the brink of elimination from IPL15. Like the first week, the second too turned out to be disastrous for these marquee teams leaving them languishing at the bottom of the points table, yet to open their account, and everyone bewildered about the whys and hows of their sharp decline this season.
Both teams are under duress for largely similar reasons. With a fresh cast of players barring a few retainees, neither CSK not MI have been able to put a cohesive unit on the park. In batting and bowling, both teams have not just lacked sparkle and skills, but also the hard-nosed ambition to succeed which defined their cricket since the first season of the IPL and made them such strong teams.
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Both seem to be suffering because of what appears now as flawed picks in the mega auction. It could be that the fresh faces are overawed, by the fact of playing for high profile teams as well as the IPL. Whatever the case, this is not serving either team well.
There is a commonality in the pattern of defeats between the two teams. The batting has been shallow and inconsistent, the bowling perhaps even more so. CSK failed to defend a mammoth 210 against Lucknow Super Giants. On Saturday even a badly struggling SRH got their better in batting and bowling, pushing the defending champions to rock bottom in the points table.
Mumbai failed to prevent Delhi Capitals from overhauling 177 in their opening match, then hit a new low when Pat Cummins ravaged them with a thunderous 15-ball 56 to take KKR to a win when it appeared Mumbai had sealed the match. Against RCB on Saturday, the team slumped from 50-0 to 79-6 before Surya Kumar bailed them out with a brilliant half-century. But 151 was too meagre a score to defend even with RCB still to hit the best form.
While defeats are a part and parcel of sport, even for the best teams, such setbacks are unusual for CSK and MI. The stellar record and mighty reputation they enjoy has been built around the capacity to perform consistently with a high degree of skill and commitment over long periods. More importantly, also, the ability to raise the level of performance in tough situations and generally turn close matches in their favour.
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In IPL 15, CSK and MI have looked undercooked, unsettled and vulnerable. While the inability of new recruits to swiftly adjust to the demands of the coach and captain has obviously been a factor in the poor performances, it is not the only one. In fact, the failure of senior pros and star players to come good has been perhaps more problematic.
For MI, only Surya Kumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah to an extent Ishan Kishan, have lived up to expectations. Rohit Sharma has been way below his best, and Kieron Pollard has hardly looked like the match-winner of old. The failure of Sharma and Pollard particularly has hurt MI badly. They haven’t been able to get a good start or finish strongly. In the past. teams playing MI were generally fearful of suffering at the hands of these two. This season such a threat has been muted.
Likewise, CSK too have been seeking substantial and match-winning performances from their leading players which have not been forthcoming. Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo have looked in decent nick, but haven’t really gone beyond cameos. Hardly anybody from the top order has shown the wherewithal to bat 12-14 overs and help the team into a dominant position. On the sole occasion, this was done – against Lucknow – the bowling flopped, unable to defend a 200-plus score.
Apart from Dwayne Bravo, no other CSK bowler has looked like picking up wickets consistently or even bowling parsimoniously. Consequently, the pressure on opposing batsmen this season is far lesser than in previous years. CSK desperately need more meaningful contributions from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Dhoni, Bravo and particularly Ravindra Jadeja. The ace all-rounder, made captain this season, has looked weighed down, the responsibility-taking some toll on his batting and bowling.
Mind you, the mathematical possibility of both teams making the cut still exists. The T20 format is notoriously topsy-turvy and, in the past, teams have recovered from a protracted sequence of defeats to get into the last four. In fact, it is part of IPL lore how Mumbai Indians (particularly), and even CSK may start slowly but gather steam and finish strongly to make it to the play-offs if not a place on the podium.
Going by their performances this season, such a turnaround looks far-fetched as it entails not only that CSK and MI win virtually every match from here, but also current frontrunners (KKR, RR, LSG, GT and RCB) hit a prolonged slump that not only denies them points but also erodes their Net Run Rate massively Frankly this is just a straw to clutch in desperation for the supporters of these two teams. It does not address the fundamental issue: neither CSK nor MI have looked good enough. In fact, they’ve been unrecognizable as champions teams.
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