Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) ploy to promote Sam Curran up the order has failed. Back in 2020, CSK captain MS Dhoni had decided to send the English all-rounder in at number 4 against the Rajasthan Royals. Curran came out all guns blazing and played a valuable cameo of 17 runs from 6 balls.
Sam Curran experiment fails
Having dropped Rachin Ravindra, their left-handed opener, Dhoni decided to send Curran in at number 3 after Mohammed Shami got Shaik Rasheed’s wicket on the first ball of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
This time, Curran wasn’t sent in as a pinch hitter. The pitch had something in it. And SRH pacers were doing well. He tried to play out the initial few balls and then change gears. But that didn’t pan out. Curran played a sluggish 10-ball innings and managed to score just 9 runs.
Sam Curran IPL stats: Batting positive wise for CSK
| Position | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | 3 | 53 | 17.67 | 108.16 | 0 | 31 |
| 3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 90.00 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 1 | 17 | 17.00 | 283.33 | 0 | 17 |
| 5 | 3 | 38 | 19.00 | 100.00 | 0 | 17 |
| 6 | 4 | 27 | 9.00 | 135.00 | 0 | 18 |
| 7 | 2 | 67 | 67.00 | 128.85 | 1 | 52 |
| 8 | 4 | 52 | 17.33 | 192.59 | 0 | 34 |
CSK’s tactics, or lack there of
Mind you, this was the first time Curran was batting at number 3 for CSK or in the Indian Premier League (IPL). And given he hadn’t played for a while and that the Chepauk pitch was tricky, this was perhaps always on the cards. This move kind of embodies what CSK have done. They don’t seem to have a plan. Why would you include Dewald Brevis and then send Curran and Ravindra Jadeja to bat ahead of him?
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