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Chennai: (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
One of the most successful franchises in the history of the Indian T20 League, Chennai haven’t lived up to the expectations in the ongoing edition. They are the defending champions and the fans had huge expectations from them prior to the start of the league.
Ahead of their first game against Kolkata, the Yellow Army took everyone by surprise as Ravindra Jadeja was appointed as the new skipper of the side. MS Dhoni was no longer the captain of the team but was still an important member of the side.
However, the decision didn’t work out in their favor as Chennai lost all of their first four matches. In what was their fifth game, Chennai registered their first win against Bangalore, however, they couldn’t extend winning momentum, thereafter.
A 23-run win was followed by a 3-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat. However, an MS Dhoni’s sensational finish in the next game against Mumbai helped them register their second win. Once again, Chennai couldn't maintain the winning momentum as their next match saw them suffer an 11-run defeat at the hands of Punjab. In 8 matches, the Yellow Army could only manage to win 2 games.
Ravindra Jadeja was feeling the pressure of captaincy, and, in what came as another shocking decision, he handed captaincy duties back to MS Dhoni. The legendary Indian skipper, once again, took over as captain and Chennai notched a mammoth 202-run total in the very next game against Hyderabad. They, eventually, won the match by 13 runs.
Chennai fought hard in the next game against Bangalore but fell 13 runs short in the end. On Sunday, MS Dhoni and Co. once again returned to winnings ways as they beat Delhi by a huge margin of 91 runs. With that win, Chennai are now sitting at 7th position on the points table with 4 wins in 11 matches and their net run rate is also positive.
Despite the win, Chennai’s chances of reaching the playoffs are not too high. However, it is still mathematically possible that Dhoni & Co. can qualify for the playoffs. For them to make a top-four finish, they ought to win all the remaining three matches in the season.
Add to that, they need to ensure that they win the remaining games by big margins. Having said that, even after winning the remaining three matches, they would want results of some other teams to go in their favour.
Meanwhile, here are the results of the other 12 matches which need to go Chennai’s way in order for them to make it to the playoffs:
Match | Favourable winner for CSK |
MI vs KKR | MI |
LSG vs GT | LSG or GT |
RR vs DC | RR |
RCB vs PBKS | PBKS |
KKR vs SRH | KKR |
LSG vs RR | LSG or RR |
PBKS vs DC | DC |
MI vs SRH | MI |
KKR vs LSG | LSG |
RCB vs GT | GT |
MI vs DC | MI |
SRH vs PBKS | SRH or PBKS |
If all these matches go according to the table, then Chennai and either Hyderabad or Punjab will get tied at 14 points each. And, if Chennai have their net run rate better than the other team, then they can reach the playoffs.