"Their entire bowling unit had an off day" - Pragyan Ojha on the performance of SRH bowlers against CSK in IPL 2022  

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered their third win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 after defeating the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The Chennai-based side won by 13 runs after some stunning displays by their batters on Sunday.

Speaking about the game, former India bowler Pragyan Ojha believes that the usually consistent SRH bowlers had an off day on the field. The Kane Williamson-led side conceded 202-2 in the first innings. The potent bowling unit failed to pick up a wicket until the 18th over, and by then the damage was too late to be repaired.

Despite the poor bowling display, Ojha feels skipper Williamson will not be too worried about it. The former spinner said on Cricbuzz:

"SRH usually bowl well, but their entire bowling unit had an off day today. Such days come often. I don't think, Kane Williamson, who is an experienced captain and has led so many teams, will be disturbed by this."

Four of the six bowlers used by SRH ended with an economy of over 10. The in-form Umran Malik ended up being the most expensive bowler with a forgettable spell of 0-48. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's tight spell of 0-22 was the only respite for SRH, who suffered their second defeat in a row.

Chasing a mammoth total, SRH were off to a good start and were kept alive in the game by CSK following a series of dropped catches. The season's recurring pattern continued for the defending champions as they have tallied the most number of dropped catches in the tournament so far.

Opining that MS Dhoni will not be affected by the dropped catches until the players are following his plan, Ojha said:

"Catches being dropped is quite common. But, one thing to see here was the leader was never angry. Unless you are not going according to plan, then it is okay. Dhoni even encouraged Theeksana when he dropped the catch. Just keep working according to the plan, if you keep doing that Dhoni will back you."

The dropped catches allowed SRH to remain in the contest early on and even reduce their margin of defeat to just 13 runs.

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"CSK would be disappointed with their fielding performance today" - RP Singh

CSK squandered a chance to provide their net-run rate (-0.407) with a huge boost. The 13-run margin does not do them a big favor as they still hold a relatively poor figure when compared to the top franchises.

Believing that CSK could have wrapped the contest with a 30-40 run win had they even taken half of their chances, former India bowler RP Singh said:

"We have seen teams being unable to qualify just because of margins in the net run rate. CSK would be disappointed with their fielding performance today. Had they taken even 50 percent of their dropped chances, they could have won by 30-40 runs."

The four-time winners will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the same venue on May 4 (Wednesday).