Having taken the captaincy back and defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad, it felt that MS Dhoni could once again unfurl his magic and take the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) through to the playoffs.
However, that dream bubble was busted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore who defeated the four-time champions on Wednesday in Pune by 13 runs, and have virtually knocked out the defending champions.
While RCB climbed back in the fourth position, with 12 points in 11 matches making a strong contention for a playoff berth, CSK’s fate is all but sealed, and five-time champions Mumbai Indians are confirmed to be eliminated from the playoff race with Rohit Sharma‘s side having only 2 points in 9 matches and the maximum they can reach is 12 points.
CSK, though, still remain alive for the playoff race – but hanging by only a thin thread and will need a miracle for other teams’ results to go their way. CSK have 6 points in 10 matches, and the maximum they can reach, if they win their remaining 4 games, is 14 points.
CSK have a poor record so far. Yet they are not officially knocked out; there are still some mathematical permutations and combinations that can take them through to the playoffs. But that is almost certain to not happen given two teams – Gujarat and Lucknow – have 14 or more points and two others –
RR and
RCB – are sitting with 12 points each, followed by two more – SRH and PBKS – with 10 points each, and all of them have at least three games left to play.
RR and
RCB – are sitting with 12 points each, followed by two more – SRH and PBKS – with 10 points each, and all of them have at least three games left to play.
CSK have a poor net run rate; they will need to win all their 4 matches by huge margins and will need a miracle for all other results to go their way to reach the fourth spot. In short, Mumbai are first franchise to be knocked out this season; it’s only a matter of time before Chennai will join them.
