2 weeks Ago By Online Desk
Former cricketer and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stalwart Ambati Rayudu cast serious doubts over MS Dhoni and his team's chances this season following their crushing nine-wicket defeat to the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.Speaking exclusively to JioStar expert Mark Boucher, Rayudu questioned whether CSK has what it takes to reach the playoffs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign."I don’t see them coming back this season.
Even Dhoni acknowledged that in his post-match comments—saying they’re already looking ahead to the next season. They’ll want to groom young players and build a culture of fearless, not reckless, cricket. They must play with more positive intent.
Perhaps someone like Ayush Mhatre could get a full run from here on."Boucher commenting on MI's win said he was ecstatic and the match seemed one-sided. "Mumbai Indians have been speaking about playing a near-perfect game, and I thought they came pretty close tonight.
They bowled brilliantly and then came out with intent while batting. It shows how dangerous Suryakumar Yadav can be when the team gets off to a good start."Lauding Rohit Sharma’s 45-ball 76, Boucher said it laid the foundation for Suryakumar Yadav to flourish with a blistering 68 off 30 balls.
"Rohit Sharma didn't need to score a hundred—just a solid 70-odd—and that’s exactly what he did. I’d love to see more of that- Rohit anchoring one end through the innings." "I think he [Rohit] took a little time to get going, but played some fantastic shots through the off-side.
He wasn’t just trying to pull everything to the on-side. He has scored a lot of runs before, but today he looked hungry. He wanted to spend time in the middle and finish the game for Mumbai Indians," Rayudu said about his former MI teammate.
Rayudu also shed light on what went wrong for CSK."It was those middle overs—around seven overs for just 35 runs—that cost them. No one plays like that anymore in T20 cricket.
The game has evolved, and even during the middle overs, teams need to score at a healthy strike rate. CSK lacked intent.""You can lose a game, but you have to fight.
You can’t just try to coast through a phase and hope to finish strong later," Rayudu highlighted.Catch Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans at 7:30 PM today in an electrifying TATA IPL Revenge Week from April 20-27, live and exclusive on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.We are realistic about our position, but CSK will try to find players for next year: Fleming.
