Lack of experience with bat, poor fielding cost CSK dear vs RR in IPL opener
Chennai Super Kings struggled with a wobbly start and a new-look batting order against Rajasthan Royals, failing to recover from an early collapse. Despite the eight-wicket loss, batting coach Michael Hussey backed the team, acknowledging Jadeja's clever bowling against Shivam Dube. CSK also fumbled in the field, conceding runs and boundaries during the chase.
GUWAHATI: Chennai Super Kings have before been in the kind of situations they found themselves in against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. But usually, on those occasions they had experience in the batting order to bail them out — be it a MS Dhoni, a Suresh Raina or a Faf du Plessis in their element. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW! However, trading experience for fresh faces in a new-look batting order while in a rebuilding phase, meant that the five-time champions could never recover from the wobbly start they experienced here. Notwithstanding the moist wicket and overcast conditions on a red-soil pitch in the first innings, CSK batters were found lacking application on an intriguing track that helped RR bowlers execute their plans to near perfection.
“They (RR) outplayed us today, but I think it was a good toss to win. The pitch had been under cover for a long time. There was certainly some movement early and our batters probably struggled to adjust to that movement,” CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said after their eight-wicket loss on Monday.
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, disappointed with his batters’ capitulation, echoed Hussey’s thoughts. “I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra (Archer) and (Nandre) Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths, and even after that, facing a medium pacer (Sandeep Sharma) (it) was slightly tough,” the opener told broadcasters.