The Chepauk Conundrum, Dhoni’s Batting Stance, and More

On Sunday (April 30), Punjab Kings defied the pre-match predictions and clinched a remarkable last-ball victory against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk.

This win enabled them to join three other teams in the points table.

For CSK, the defeat proved to be a devastating setback as they were anticipated to make a strong comeback after losing to Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur merely two days ago.

The match provided several talking points, with one of them being the “Chepauk puzzle”.

First off, the question that comes to mind is whether Chepauk is still a stronghold for CSK. Historically, CSK has enjoyed an exceptional home record at this venue.

However, this season has seen mixed results for them with two wins and two losses.

The two losses were close, but it counts at the end of the day. The recent defeat against Punjab Kings was significant as it marked CSK’s first-ever loss in a day game where they batted first.

Even though they won the toss and posted 200 runs, the script went awry in the second innings, with spin not playing a significant role as anticipated.

It’s surprising that this season, scores at Chepauk have been higher than expected, despite the pitch’s reputation for assisting spin.

The CSK coach, Stephen Fleming, admitted that he would like to see more spin on the surface, but they are still figuring out how the pitch is playing this season since they haven’t played here for the past few years.

They have three consecutive home games coming up, and it’s crucial they make good use of that run.

Moving on to the batting order, fans have grown frustrated with the fact that MS Dhoni walks out late in the innings.

However, this season, he prefers batting at 8 and has been in excellent form, striking the ball at 211 and hitting eight sixes in just 35 balls faced.

Given his current form, it’s perhaps best for the team if he comes ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.

Although Dhoni’s knee injury seems to have hampered his running, the team can afford to sacrifice quick singles in favor of big boundaries.

Lastly, there’s the question of whether to play Mitchell Santner or Maheesh Theekshana.

At the start of the tournament, this would not have been a discussion, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Theekshana’s economy rate has been on the higher side this season, and he has already conceded over 40 runs twice.

On the other hand, Santner has not played a game yet and could be a good option to consider.

Here are Mitchell Santner’s T20 cricket stats since 2022:

Wickets: 47 Economy Rate: 6.68 Average: 20.46

Mitchell Santner has been performing exceptionally well on the T20 circuit lately.

He delivered for New Zealand in the T20 World Cup last year, even bowling during the powerplay.

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इंडिया नॅशनल क्रिकेट टीम

Despite being a benchwarmer for CSK due to overseas regulations, he played a significant role in their recent win against Mumbai Indians.

He may be a better option for Chepauk’s surfaces later in the tournament than Maheesh Theekshana and is also a useful batsman at No.9.

CSK has a long history of successful overseas openers, including Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, and Shane Watson.

Devon Conway has now joined that elite list, having gone past 50 eight times in his 16-match IPL career for CSK.

Although there were indications earlier this season that he might have to make way for Ben Stokes, it seems unlikely now.

Jitesh Sharma and Matheesha Pathirana have also impressed this season.

Sharma has been consistently delivering vital cameos, while Pathirana’s skills at the death have boosted CSK significantly.