It has been a rather lackluster start for one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they have been inconsistencies brewing up in their performances with both the willow and white cherry in the initial stages of the tournament.
CSK did manage to start off well in their opening encounter of season 13 by defeating defending champion Mumbai Indians but have been outplayed in all honesty by Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals in their next two games.
Here is a look at the major factors which have been the triggers points behind an up and down performance by the 'Whistle Podu' Brigade
Lack On Intent In Batting Has Hurt CSK
Vijay and Watson Have Failed To Provide The Opening Salvo
After a long long time, the CSK batting lineup has been looking rather unstable and below par in the IPL. The openers have failed to provide a solid platform up the order as both Murali Vijay and Shane Watson have been dismissed rather cheaply. While Vijay has struggled to find his timing, Aussie all-rounder Watson looked good in brief spells but failed to catch on to his starts.
IPL 2020, DC vs CSK: Opener Prithvi Shaw's Fiery Half Ton Powers Delhi Capitals To 44-Run Win Over Chennai Super Kings
Du Plessis Lone Warrior in the middle order
Faf Du Plessis seems to be the lone warrior in an otherwise underperforming middle order as the Proteas import has racked up 173 runs on the back of two half tons and a 43-run knock. Youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad promoted up the order has failed to make an impact so far and skipper Dhoni's somewhat perplexing decision to bat lower down the order has backfired till now. The injury to Ambati Rayadu has added to the batting woes of the 'Yellow Army'
CSK's Traditional Strength Spin Has Quite Not Come To The Fore
Spin has always been a strong weapon in the bowling armoury for Dhoni-led CSK side in their highly successful campaigns overs the years. However, much to the contrary Chennai spinners have failed to make an impact as both Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja have been hit for plenty of boundaries with relative ease. The absence of ace off spinner Harbhajan Singh has showed an adverse impact in the early stages.
It is now to be seen whether Dhoni will turn to his veteran spinner Imran Tahir at the cost of tinkering the 4-overseas player combination
Death Bowling A Major Worry For CSK Seam Attack
CSK seamers but have been a touch too expensive at the backend of the innings. Proteas seamer Lungi Ngidi has been belted for many runs and his spell against Rajasthan Royals cost CSK the match.
With the ever economical Josh Hazlewood replacing Lungi Ngidi in the last game against DC, things turned out much better for CSK. Meanwhile, seam bowler Deepak Chahar has been pretty mediocre and hasn't found that magical swing which made him an outright strike weapon all through last season.