Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

Will CSK perform well in the UAE this time? | A look at CSK ahead of phase 2 of IPL 2021 in UAE: Can they perform better than IPL 2020?

IPL 2020 was the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League when that Chennai Super Kings didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

Until IPL 2019, CSK played 10 seasons and qualified for the playoffs every time. They are the second-most successful team in the IPL and arguably the most consistent team in the league.

CSK had a few major concerns in the 2020 edition, which led to their downfall that season. One of them being the poor form of skipper MS Dhoni who was the backbone of CSK’s batting in the middle-order in 2018 and 2019. Dhoni after the 2019 World Cup Semi Final had not played any cricket and certainly looked rusty in IPL 2020.

Alongside him, other players like Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu were coming off a long break as well. Suresh Raina too was absent. These were some of the reasons for their failure in IPL 2020 but CSK bounced back in style in IPL 2021 where they won five out of the seven games before the tournament was postponed.

So, how prepared are CSK for the second leg of IPL when the tournament returns to the UAE?

Strengths:

The Moeen Factor

Moeen Ali has been CSK’s one of the best signings in recent times. He has significantly helped in solving CSK’s batting issues.

Moeen has scored 206 runs in six games at an average of 34, striking at 157. This shows that he has consistently scored 30-35 runs at a very high strike-rate in the middle-overs – an area where CSK struggled badly in IPL 2020.

Moeen is one of the best spin hitters around, and he did exactly what CSK asked him to do i.e. score at a high strike-rate in the middle-overs. So, Moeen Ali will be a great factor for CSK coming back to the UAE after the disappointing campaign in IPL 2020 and they’ll expect him to continue his red-hot form.

Batting Depth

CSK didn’t have a settled batting unit in IPL 2020. The experienced core, i.e. MS Dhoni, Shane Watson, were not in form either. Identifying the problem, MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming rectified it immediately in the next season in 2021.

CSK have Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis at the top with Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, and Ambati Rayudu in the middle-order followed by Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and skipper MS Dhoni. In addition, they have Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar as well who are more than handy with the bat. As is Dwayne Bravo, if CSK choose to pick him.

So from no batting depth and an unsettled batting unit in 2020, CSK now has potential batting depth up to number 11. Plus, they have the license to express themselves from ball one. This is one of the major reasons for CSK’s comeback in the first phase of IPL 2021.

CSK’s batting in IPL 2021 has improved significantly.  Ambati Rayudu who bats at number 5 has a strike rate of 200 after 5 Innings. Ravindra Jadeja has a strike-rate of 160+, Faf du Plessis is averaging 64 and has a strike-rate of 145 and we’ve already mentioned Moeen Ali.

The impact of this reflects in their scorecards. Out of the seven games, CSK have scored 200+ runs twice, and have scored between 180-190 in three games. They scored more than 10 runs per over in the middle-overs (7-15) in most of their games which lays the foundation of a big score.

If MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina can find some form with the bat then this CSK batting unit can be the best in the entire tournament. MS Dhoni and CSK will want the batters to continue from where they left in the first phase.

However, there are two concerns for CSK before stepping in the second phase of IPL 2021.

Concerns:

Lack of Match Practice

The first issue is the lack of match practice for many CSK players. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu have been out of action since the tournament was postponed early in May. This can be a little concerning for them considering there might be a situation when they need to take their team over the line.

But, having said that, they are experienced players and consistent performers for CSK over the years so one can expect them to perform when the team needs them the most.

Death Bowling

This has been a major problem for CSK over the years. They lack a good death bowler and this has cost them a lot. The perfect example of this is their last game against the Mumbai Indians when they failed to defend 219. Kieron Pollard destroyed their bowling scoring 87 runs in 34 balls.

Sam Curran needs to prove himself in the death overs while Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, and even DJ Bravo have been very poor in that phase. Dhoni and Fleming will have to somehow fix this issue if they have to win their 4th title in IPL 2021.

So now to finally conclude this and answer the question, CSK are looking really settled as a squad and are in much better shape than they were in 2020. They need to fix their death bowling issue and if they can do that then MS Dhoni and his men will have a grand chance to get their hands on the IPL trophy for the 4th time.

Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.