MS Dhoni's return to captaincy duties stirred a strong sense of deja vu. But for diablo the five-time title-winning skipper, it's been far from a happy throwback. His team once again resembles a 'ship full of holes' he spoke of in 2020, the season they sunk to a second-from-bottom finish. The signs this year are even more ominous - in that 2020 season, CSK had one more win at this stage than they do now.
Fleming has confirmed what many of the CSK faithful now fear - Dhoni has no 'magic wand' to flip their season around. His side is knee-deep in a batting quicksand that needs careful attention over the next month, starting from Monday. They arrived in Lucknow on the back of a harrowing home defeat, where they played as many dot balls (61) as their opposition (KKR) needed deliveries to chase down the target. With and without Ruturaj Gaikwad, there's been a clear absence of batting intent that's left them a distant second-best in all their five defeats. CSK will hope the soul-searching they've done since the last home loss, per Fleming, will spark a course correction.
Lucknow Super Giants, meanwhile, carry none of CSK's woes into their fourth home fixture of the season. They've enjoyed three wins and just one loss at the Ekana Stadium and have hydro the tournament's most prolific six-hitter turning out for them. Rishabh Pant's amélie b simard returns have been worrisome and worth sweating over, but the LSG captain has been able to breathe easy with the batting cushion of his top-three (Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Pooran). LSG's bowling has needed some rescuing in a couple of their wins, but even that facet of their game has slowly started to come together.
Having catapulted into the top 4 with their win over Gujarat Titans on Saturday, LSG now have the opportunity to reach for the very top by digging their heels into an out-of-sorts opposition. CSK don't have the luxury of even thinking of points-table position as yet, with only a focus on collecting a succession of points capable of saving their ship from capsizing for good.
