IPL teams usually plan their squads for the next three years during the mega auction. However, two former cricketers commented that Chennai Super Kings, one of the tournament’s most successful teams, made poor choices. Their on-field performance seems to prove them right. Chennai has now recorded the fifth-highest number of consecutive home defeats and became the first team eliminated from the 18th IPL season.
On Wednesday, Chennai played Punjab Kings at the M Chidambaram Stadium. Chennai batted first after losing the toss and scored 191 runs but were bowled out with 4 balls left, thanks to a hat-trick from Yuzvendra Chahal. Sam Curran top-scored with 88 runs off 47 balls, hitting 9 fours and 4 sixes. No other batter contributed much. Chahal took 4 wickets, while Marco Jansen and Arshdeep Singh grabbed two each for Punjab.
In reply, Punjab chased down the target with 2 balls and 4 wickets remaining. Openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh gave a fast start. Priyansh scored 23, while Prabhsimran made 54 from 36 balls. Skipper Shreyas Iyer added 72 off 41 balls, and Shashank Singh sealed the win with a quick 23. This victory moved Punjab to second place in the standings.
Chennai has lost 8 out of 10 matches this season, making them the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. Dhoni and Jadeja’s side is now out of the playoff race. This is the second season in a row that Chennai has been eliminated at the league stage. The team, which has won the IPL title five times, has now set several unwanted records for the first time in its history.
Chennai’s Worst IPL Performance Yet
- For the first time ever, the team has been knocked out of the IPL league stage in back-to-back seasons.
- Chennai has never faced such a bad loss at home in IPL history. This season, they lost five matches in a row to Chips and won only one out of six games against them. Overall, Chennai has managed to win just two out of 10 matches this season.
- Chennai had only lost two matches in a row to Chippa before, but this time they added many more to that streak.
- This is the first time this season that they have been knocked out before reaching the playoffs.