Chennai Super Kings (CSK) just don’t seem to learn a lesson. Despite making changes to their squad mid-season in IPL 2025, recruiting youngsters and making suitable changes to their playing XI, their result has remained the same. The five-time champions have simply failed to fire in the powerplay. What is the reason? The rushed approach of the top-order batters coupled with the lack of clarity on what their roles are could be the possible ones.
CSK falter in powerplay yet again
CSK were put in to bat first by RR in their IPL 2026 opener in Guwahati. They came out with some rejuvenated line-up, with Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad opening the batting. However, it took under just 2 overs for RR to hand their first blow to CSK as their former player Samson was the first to depart after scoring 6 off just 7 balls. Shortly after, his partner and CSK captain Gaikwad was dismissed in the very next over after scoring the same 6 runs.
CSK had struggled to get the scoreboard ticking in the powerplay in the previous edition, and had hoped against hope that this season will be different. But that wasn’t the case. Ayush Mhatre was dismissed for a golden duck and Matthew Short soon followed him back to the pavilion within the powerplay, leaving CSK reeling at 41/4 at the end of the powerplay.
Last year, the team faced similar difficulties in the powerplay, with the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra and others, who were unable to contribute effectively at the top of the order. The average powerplay score registered by the five time champions in the IPL 2025 season was 45 runs. They had the lowest powerplay run rate (7.91) and average (26.38) among all teams in the competition.
This year, they decided to rejig their playing XI by bringing Samson to open with Gaikwad while Mhatre was demoted to three. However, this failed to pay off, as the top four batters simply failed to fire. Four wickets were lost within the powerplay. This indicates one main thing – it might be a new season with fresh faces for CSK but the result and their batting woes in the powerplay remains the same.
Cricket
No opening party for Sanju Samson in yellow as CSK debut ends in 10 minutes
