IPL 2018: 5 areas of concern that Chennai Superkings needs to overcome to win against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Though Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are returning into the IPL fold after a nearly two-year hiatus, it doesn’t seem like they have lost their old habits.

They are still led by their iconic son of non-soil, MS Dhoni who has almost ensured another top-four finish for his team after the league stage and they still are a batting heavy team with a comparatively weaker bowling attack like previous years.

They are currently placed at the second spot in the points table with 12 points from nine games and are up against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore next, who have so far accumulated six points from their eight games and are struggling in the bottom half of the table.

Chennai are coming into this clash after a six-wicket blip against Kolkata Knight Riders in their last game.

The defeat against Kolkata gives us an opportunity to decode five areas of concern that CSK needs to address to win over an inspired Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune-

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#1 David Willey instead of Dwayne Bravo

Bravo's form has dipped as the tournament has progressed

Bravo started the IPL with a bang when he clobbered the Mumbai Indians bowling attack in the season opener to hand his team an improbable final over victory.

But since then he has not been able to live up to his own lofty standards. He has so far taken just seven wickets from nine games at an extravagant economy of 10.26 runs per over.

He is clearly looking far from his best in the bowling department with batsmen able to regularly pick his slower balls.

It is about time for Chennai to bring in the English all-rounder, David Willey into the playing XI.

Willey’s inclusion will prove beneficial on two counts- while he can be used as a floater in the batting order with Perth Scorchers even using him in the top order in Big Bash League, his bowling credentials are well established with a prized ability to bowl in the death.

His left-handed bowling will lend great diversity to CSK's bowling arsenal.

#2 Karn Sharma should be given more overs

Karn Sharma has been grossly under-utilized by Dhoni so far

Karn Sharma is the most under-utilised bowlers in the Chennai ranks. It’s quite baffling to see Sharma being used to bowling only 5.3 overs in the four matches that he has played so far.

This decision of MS Dhoni raises even more eyebrows when seen in the context that leg-spinners are in huge demand in the T20 format due to their wicket-taking prowess.

Under-utilisation of any bowler can really hurt his confidence and the last thing that MS Dhoni will want to see going into the business end of the tournament is his bowlers lacking in confidence and penetration.

His three wickets so far don’t really paint the ideal picture of his capabilities. Hopefully, CSK setup will tinker their approach regarding him and henceforth will allow him to spend more time with the ball.

#3 The Jadeja conundrum

Jadeja has been poor with both bat and ball

Everyone knows that when Dhoni decides to back an underperforming player, even the Gods are compelled to reverse the player’s fortunes for good.

There have been numerous such stories in the past and why go back in the distant past when we have the story of Deepak Chahar who had two forgetful seasons with Rising Pune Supergiant but was on fire this season until a hamstring injury ruled him out of the action for a couple of weeks.

But somehow Jadeja’s fortunes are looking like a hard nut to crack even by the rock-solid backing of Dhoni.

He has been regularly promoted up the order over Bravo but has failed in every attempt as is evident by his meagre returns which stand at 59 runs from eight innings.

He is even finding it difficult to strike the ball cleanly as he scored a run-a-ball 12 against Kolkata when his team needed him to be at his swashbuckling best in the death overs.

His bowling too cuts a sorry picture as he has been able to scalp only three wickets from the eighteen overs bowled so far.

CSK have given him enough opportunities over Bravo in the batting order and it’s about time they give that responsibility to someone more potent than him while they can also consider bringing back Shardul Thakur in place of him to bolster their pace attack.

#4 Avoid the middle-overs rut

Even Dhoni and Rayudu couldn't accelerate in middle overs against KKR

It’s now two games when Chennai have lost the game because of their shabby batting efforts in the middle phase of the innings i.e. overs no. 10 to 15.

This five-over period is quite crucial as teams gather momentum for their deadly assaults in these overs and regular fall of wickets in these overs can seriously hamper the chances of a big finish.

That is what exactly happened with CSK in their defeats against Mumbai and Kolkata. While they could only manage 26 runs for the loss of one wicket in that period against Mumbai, their fate was much worse against Kolkata where they lost three important wickets while accumulating just 31 runs.

Clearly, they need to avoid this middle phase rut against Royal Challengers Bangalore who have the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum in their ranks.

These are the players for whom you really need a big total on board to give your bowlers a chance of winning the match for you.

Considering the recent bowling woes of CSK, it is all the more important to make optimum utilisation of these middle overs to give momentum to the innings.

#5 Suresh Raina needs to step up his consistency

Raina's consistency is a cause of slight worry for CSK camp

Raina has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL arena. There is no doubt that he has done a great service to the league with his sublime batting, electric fielding, and occasional golden arm bowling.

But this season Chennai set up will be slightly anxious over his consistency so far. After eight matches this season, he finds himself unusually placed at No.4 in the batting charts for his team with a tally of 236 runs which have come at an average of 39.33.

While the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, and Dhoni are making merry in the middle with their individual run tallies already above the 300-run mark, Raina has languished slightly behind by his own standards.

He has so far scored two fifties and even during the second one against Mumbai he struggled to give impetus to his team in the middle overs which ultimately led to his team managing a below-par total of 169.

Chennai will be hoping that he rectifies the chinks that are hurting his chances in the middle and comes out blazing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next game.

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