Virat Kohli has said that Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s matches against Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru were some of the most high pressure matches of his IPL career. Not because of Chennai’s incredible head-to-head record, but because of the psychological impact CSK fans made at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Kohli revealed that Chennai and their fans had turned the Super Kings’ home venue Chepauk into such a formidable fortress, the yellow wave would find its way to nearby Bengaluru. For years, RCB felt under siege at their own ground with tension in the stands very high during the derby.
But that was some time ago. Chennai started to show cracks in their multiple championship-winning armour, especially since the Covid era. In the last six years, Chennai won the IPL twice but also finished at or near the bottom of the table three times. It was either the title or the dumps.
And at the same time, Bengaluru had started to turn into a serious T20 outfit. RCB made it to the play-offs in five out of six seasons, finally winning the trophy after a nearly two-decade wait last year. Chennai, unsurprisingly, finished last after missing the play-offs cut the year before.
It can be argued that Bengaluru’s final over win over Chennai in 2024 – while defending 17 runs against Dhoni to secure a spot in the play-offs – seemingly snapped something in the Super Kings camp. Since that match, Bengaluru have consolidated their position as the best team in the south.
Coach Andy Flower and franchise management of Mo Bobat and Dinesh Karthik have put together a near perfect squad with incredible depth and range. Power hitters like Phil Salt, Tim David and Romario Shepard are complemented by the precision of Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya. Their team balance should be taught in franchise classes.
Chennai, sadly, don’t resemble Dhoni’s Super Kings anymore. Or maybe they are still trying hard to act like the champions they once were.
Dhoni is still in and around the team as a player. But his knees are in bad shape and only a miracle will see him back on the field fully fit. Ruturaj Gaikwad was seen as the next big batting hope of Chennai, but the burden of captaincy has chipped away at his confidence as a batter and leader.
Chennai’s steep decline was perfectly encapsulated in Sunday’s RCB v CSK clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Bolstered by the overwhelming support of the home crowd, which a few years back was 50-50 at best, RCB blasted 250 against a listless Chennai attack and completed a comfortable win.
Bengaluru should have won by a margin greater than the 43 runs they managed. But you have to take into account the fact that at 108-6, Chennai had lost the game and lower order batters Prashant Veer and Jamie Overton went on the attack for five overs to make a match of it.
Chennai fans now openly admit the team is looking weak on paper and listless on the field. The Super Kings had one of the biggest funds ahead of the player auction for this year. But they ended up spending a whopping $3 million on untested and uncapped youngsters Veer and Karthik Sharma, while overlooking players with more international and even IPL experience.
Chennai, who were once criticised for backing veteran players over younger and more flamboyant cricketers, have now gone to the other extreme - U19 batter Ayush Mhatre, Veer and Kartik form the core of their batting talent.
The acquisition of Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper batter was expected to solve batting and leadership issues. But Samson can’t seem to put bat to ball and his failures at the top have only magnified the team’s problems.
What is telling is that no one is surprised that Chennai are bottom of the table with three defeats from three games. There is not a single aspect of T20 cricket where the Super Kings seem to have any command; they can’t even give playing time to Akeal Hosein – arguably the best left-arm spinner in T20 cricket.
Last year, it became clear Chennai were playing outdated cricket. But the old guard is still in place. Coach Stephen Flemming has brought incredible success to the franchise but has no accomplishments outside Chennai Super Kings and questions must be raised about the team’s tactics and approach to T20 cricket.
Teams like RCB, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians and others have moved so far ahead at such great speed, Chennai risk falling further behind even if they maintain their pace.
What has truly altered the landscape for Chennai is nature of surfaces in the IPL. Earlier, the Super Kings would bank on spin friendly tracks at home at the Chepauk, where they would win the majority of their seven home matches. A few away wins would guarantee qualification for play-offs, after which it is a game of chance.
But now, all venues in the IPL offer similar levels of difficulty. No team can select a squad for one venue – as Chennai under Dhoni did. And teams can’t ‘wing it’ as the match goes on. Focus on match-ups, in-depth analytics and smart use of impact subs are the bare minimum now.
Chennai are staring at the possibility of becoming a mid tier team, hanging on to a glorious past. They have limited time to stop the slide before away team jerseys begin to show up in greater numbers at the Chepauk.
