CHENNAI: Is it over? Or is there a twist in the tale to Chennai Super Kings' campaign? Piece by piece teams have ripped apart the Chennai Super Kings in this edition as the three-time champions have been left searching for their soul. On Friday, they run into Mumbai Indians in a must-win contest, against whom they have a 13-18 head-to-head record, their worst tally against any team in the IPL.
Languishing at the bottom of the table with three wins from 10 matches, Chennai need to win their remaining four matches, which will take them to 14 points. It will give them a mathematical chance of qualifying for the knockouts. That they still have a chance despite seven defeats is largely thanks to the performance of other teams, especially Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders who all are sailing in the same boat with consistency missing in all of them.
For a team that season after season put up a grand show, Chennai have struggled to even make a contest out of matches that they used to win hands down. Their batting might, which made them chase big totals, looks completely vulnerable with Faf du Plessis being the lone batsman who is amongst runs. After a poor start, the bowling unit appears a well-oiled machine, but fielding continues to be an issue with dropped catches being a common theme in their matches.
If all this isn't enough, Chennai will not have the services of the injured Dwayne Bravo for the rest of the season, which opens the door for Imran Tahir or Mitchell Santner.
Mumbai, on the other hand, are comfortably placed to make the play-offs. They are third in the table with 12 points having played only nine matches and even a couple of wins will take them through to the play-offs. The defending champions may not have the services of Rohit Sharma who is believed to have a hamstring injury. While that will undoubtedly weaken them, they have enough players in their ranks to step up and deliver. If he doesn't take the field, Kieron Pollard will lead the side.