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.
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.