IPL 2020 | CSK vs MI: Whats experts said as Mumbai annihilates 'sparkless' Super Kings

On the night when the Chennai Super Kings needed to play all their cards right, the men in yellow were bamboozled right at the start by the pair of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. It was the heroics of Sam Curran that took the team post a respectable total in excess of 100 but the Mumbai Indians started with the bat on a similar note where the Bumrah-Boult pair had left. While the swing and seam of Boult were exulting for the men in blue, the Dhoni’s men were having a nightmare and whatever little hope they were living in of making into the playoffs were uprooted by Boult in a jiffy. 

Experts were having a field day and all were disappointed with the fall of the CSK team which had made a reputation of being the most consistent side in the history of the IPL.

Here we have compiled a list of experts’ take on the game along with the views of both captains.

Captains’ views

The ongoing season has been a tough one for both MS Dhoni and the CSK team and he did not hide his feelings after a demolishing loss against the Mumbai Indians. He admitted that it hurts to see the side into such a pathetic position in a league that the team once used to dominate. He pointed out many aspects of the side that resulted in the season going so bad for the side from the second game they played in the IPL 2020. He said that teams which are going through rough phases need a bit of luck to turn things around which the CSK never got.

“It does hurt. What you need to see is what are the things that are going wrong. Especially this year, it hasn't been our year. Whether you lose by 8 or 10 wickets, it hardly matters, but where we are at this stage of the tournament, it does hurt. What you need to see is where we actually went wrong, right from the second game. It was more about bowling. Rayudu got injured, the other batsmen were maybe not there 200% and in cricket when you're going through a tough phase, you need a bit of luck. The games we wanted to bat first, we haven't won the toss, and there's no dew and all of a sudden when we bat first there's dew, “ MS Dhoni said to the host broadcaster Star in the post-match interaction.

Asked on the way forward for the team and how he has managed to hold up the squad, he said that the team has tried to perform but they could not bring out their best this year to produce the desired results and the team members have taken the failures on the chin and have moved on with a smile. 

“Whenever you're not doing well, there can be a 100 reasons, but one of the main things you ask yourself is whether you've got to the potential you've got no matter the conditions. When you put a good team on paper, have we done enough to back up the stats? And this year we haven't. Cumulatively there have been batting failures. It's part and parcel, you can't always think the result will go your way. You try to do the toughest thing, even when you're hurting, you try to smile and take it on the chin. I feel the boys have done that, they've tried to perform,” Dhoni added

He also suggested that the team will see some radical selections in the three remaining matches of the season with a focus to give youngsters sitting on the bench more chances to analyse their game and draw a roadmap for the next season and he pointed out the essentiality of having a clear picture of where the team stands in terms of squid for the next season.

“I think it's important for us to have a clear picture of next year. There are lots of ifs and buts - auction, where the venues will be. The coming three games will be an ideal opportunity to give platforms. See some of the youngsters in preparation for the next year. A few more who are on the bench will get games in the coming three games,” Dhoni added in his post-match remarks to Star.

On the other side of the coin, Kieron Pollard relished the opportunity to lead the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence and said that one does not have to be a leader to lead a side. He showcased the approach he had taken after dismissing CSK’s top order very early in the innings. He said that an early spell of two wickets does the job well but the efforts to take out five wickets in the first six overs was a fantastic effort and that the CSK could well have been dismissed under 100 if Sam Curran did not stand up.

“It's part and parcel of it, sometimes you don't actually have to be a leader, I know a thing or two. So it was just a matter of me stepping in and it came off tonight. It was just a matter of making right decisions, not giving them freebies. We wanted to bowl them out under 100 but Sam batted well. I think it was a total team effort. Two-three wickets early puts you in the game and to get 4-5 is fantastic. And then the openers going out and finishing off and not leaving any uncertainty was good. We want to finish top two and it's a matter of getting the points and then thinking about the opponents,” Pollard said in the post-match presentation.

Experts’ take

Cricket commentator and one of the finest readers of the game, Harsha Bhogle compared the Chennai Super Kings to an ageing boxer who is not agile enough to take on young boxers who are attempting to attack with multiple fronts and with very high intensity.

He also shared the agonies CSK’s fans might be going through simply because of the level of admiration people have for the team.

Veteran cricket journalist reminded Twitter about the comments made by MS Dhoni on the level of performances and promises shown by youngsters in the CSK camp.

He also said that the CSK looked like a side which wants to finish the campaign early and go back home.

Former Indian opener and now a cricket analyst, Aakash Chopra called the CSK’s defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians a pure annihilation and said that the journey of men in yellow in the season of the IPL is all but over even if they manage to win the next three games, which he is very doubtful about.

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