‘CSK hasn’t got their combinations right’ – Shane Watson on Chennai Super Kings’ loss to RCB

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a heartbreaking match at their stronghold, Chepauk. Similarly, former CSK player and analyst Shane Watson said he was disappointed with the team’s performance and batting order because they were unable to match the boys in red’s score.

It has finally ended Chennai’s winning run over RCB. It wasn’t until the first edition in 2008 that RCB defeated the five-time champions at this location. The team’s performance has drawn a lot of criticism, particularly from three-time IPL champion Shane Watson, who criticised the home team’s choices. He said that the team had not mastered their combinations and condemned the performances of all the hitters.

Certain choices, like as Rahul Tripathi opening the batting, were disheartening. Even though Ruturaj Gaikwad is a great opener, he had to enter later. It was even out of character for Ruturaj to give himself space against Hazlewood in one of his shots. Watson stated on JioHotstar, “Normally, he stands motionless and reacts, but this demonstrated he was under pressure.”

“Deepak Hooda isn’t capable right now; he played every ball like he was attempting to get by. It was also dubious to bat Sam Curran at number five; in my opinion, he should be batting at number seven. At the moment, CSK has to make some changes because their combos aren’t working well. He went on, “They run the risk of being exposed if they continue with this batting lineup.”

Regarding CSK’s strategy, Shane Watson wrote, “Dhoni should have batted higher.”

Despite his dissatisfaction with several batsmen’ performances, the former Australian all-rounder publicly commended MS Dhoni for his brilliant batting in the closing stages. Watson also thought that, considering the circumstances of the game, the previous captain of CSK ought to have entered the batting order.

“This is just what CSK supporters are looking for—30 off 16 deliveries from Dhoni. He would have been a wonderful addition to the order, in my opinion. I think he ought to have batted before Ashwin. Dhoni could have played like this for another 15 balls, considering the circumstances of the game. He has continuously demonstrated over the past few years that he is still capable of hitting superbly. In order to fully demonstrate his abilities, I firmly think he ought to be moved up the list,” the former Australian legend continued.

“As far as keeping wickets goes, he’s still quite good at ripping the bails off quickly. That indicates to me that he is at the top of his game and is as prepared as he can be. It would have been more likely that CSK would have crossed the line if they had sent him in sooner. “The audience loved what he did tonight, of course, but CSK might have had a better chance of winning if he had arrived sooner,” Watson said.