After a disappointing last season, CSK will be eyeing their fourth title during the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League 2021. The MS Dhoni-led three-time champions have been a unit resurrected since the start of the year, where they began the first part of IPL 2021 on a surprisingly good note.
When everyone expected the ageing CSK line-up to wilt again under pressure, they came roaring back and responded to their naysayers in the best way possible. Suffering the ignominy of a league stage exit for the first time in IPL 2020, CSK returned with a strong statement, winning five and losing only two of their seven matches before the IPL 2021 was brought to a halt in India.
The most impressive aspect of their campaign is the way they’ve managed around their shortcomings once again, especially when they played at a high-scoring venue such as the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
With the IPL 2021 following a caravan system where each team played the Indian leg at neutral venues, CSK were forced to move out of their den in Chennai and play their first five matches in Mumbai, a ground completely in contrast to the brand of cricket they like to play. Yet, Dhoni’s men adjusted magnificently and clinched victories in four of those matches.
Experienced South African batsman Faf du Plessis has been CSK’s top-scorer in the IPL 2021 so far, with 320 runs from his seven innings at an average of 64.00 and strike-rate of 145.45.
Promising all-rounder Sam Curran is the team’s highest wicket-taker heading into the UAE leg after nine scalps from seven outings with an economy rate of 8.68.
Chennai Super Kings IPL 2021 Prediction
The side resume their campaign on September 19 with a marquee clash against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Dubai. They’ll be returning to the Middle East with a point to prove after last year’s disastrous campaign.
They had won only three of their first 11 matches, and even the string of consecutive wins at the end was not enough for them to sneak through to the playoffs. For a proud franchise with three titles behind them, that was embarrassing.
But CSK are much better placed right now to exploit the dryish, spin-friendly tracks in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, which shall suit their style of play.
They’ve also maintained their core from earlier in the year, with no last-minute replacement signings announced by the franchise, unlike some of the other teams, who have lost multiple of their first-choice picks for various reasons.
The biggest key for CSK is how quickly some of their ageing players get in the groove during preparations, as that was one major reason behind their struggles in IPL 2020.
With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in cricket’s global shutdown and practise, training closed out for the major part of the year, CSK’s players, Dhoni included, arrived for the tournament heavily undercooked and it reflected in the way they played for the first half of the campaign.
This year as well, the IPL has experienced a four-month halt due to the multiple COVID-19 positive cases that were observed in early May inside different teams’ bubbles in Delhi and Ahmedabad.
But thankfully for the Kings, since the third wave subsided, they’ve had the chance to train. The team reached Dubai a month in advance to try and get themselves going in practice before the on-field action.
As far as predictions go, CSK do look prime to enter the playoffs again after a fruitful first half where, most importantly, they showcased their bouncebackability and their adaptability at a ground like Mumbai, which is so anti-CSK in its nature.
