IPL 2020: CSK vs RCB Game Plan 1 – Powerplay bowling remains an issue for Dhoni’s Men

The 25th match of the IPL 2020 tournament between the blockbuster teams, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, could all be about match-ups. Here, we take a look at a key game plan that could play a role in the 25th game of IPL 2020 – CSK vs RCB.

CSK are down in IPL 2020; in six games, they have just two victories. As of now, there is uncertainty about their qualification chances for the playoffs. Their games have gone close, and, hence it is tough to pinpoint their issues with overall numbers. 

As pointed out in this game plan, CSK’s powerplay bowling had not been very good in the first few matches. It was their powerplay bowling which laid the foundation for their success in the past two seasons. However, in IPL 2020, CSK is among the worst bowling sides in the phase. In the powerplay overs, their bowling average is the second-worst while wickets-per-match ratio and bowling strike rate are the joint-worst.

IPL 2020: BOWLERS IN THE POWERPLAY (GROUPED BY TEAMS)

One of the main reasons for CSK failures in the powerplay is the poor returns of Deepak Chahar, their star powerplay bowler. Having picked up just two wickets in this phase, Chahar has a terrible average and not a great economy as well. Curran’s economy is decent, however, he has also failed to scalp enough wickets. 

IPL 2020: CSK PACERS IN THE POWERPLAY

One of the main reasons why Chahar has failed to replicate his powerplay heroics is not bowling on the good-length enough. For all the pacers in powerplay so far, the percentage of good-length balls is around 46%; for Chahar, it is 42.71%. Despite being a powerplay-specialist, the medium-pacer has been below-par in comparison to average metrics.

As a result of this, the batsmen have cashed in on other deliveries, by playing safe the good-length balls. On non-good-length balls, Chahar has an economy of 9.7 in the powerplay so far; on good-length balls, it drops down to 6.29. 

DEEPAK CHAHAR NEEDS TO FIND HIS MOJO BACK vs RCB:

RCB are among Chahar’s non-favourable opponents in the IPL. Even though the sample size is not very large, it is evident that RCB batsmen have played him safe even though it has affected the scoring rate. However, the opening combination of RCB is different this year – Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch. 

IPL 2018-20: DEEPAK CHAHAR IN THE POWERPLAY vs DIFFERENT TEAMS

Chahar might succeed against Aaron Finch. Finch is susceptible to inswingers and nip-backers. While facing 10 inswingers in the powerplay this season, Finch has managed to score just three runs and has played five false shots (excluding misses). He has scored 11 runs against 16 nip-backer balls in this phase. Finch’s struggles against the new moving ball are well-known, and Chahar is a good match-up to exploit them.

While bowling 24 inswingers in the powerplay so far, Chahar has picked up one wicket and has an economy of 5.25. Curran who adds the left-arm variety is also quite good bowling inswingers. While bowling 23 inswingers in the powerplay, the left-arm seamer has an impressive economy of 4.43. 

Padikkal, the youngster, has looked at ease in his first IPL stint so far. However, if the ball moves, it can trouble even the bests. Thus, he needs to cautious. Virat Kohli, if bats in the powerplay, might also be troubled a bit, especially considering Curran’s presence. 

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However, the main issue for CSK is that they are conditions dependent. What if the ball doesn’t move enough? Or, RCB, somehow, manage to escape the powerplay threat? Early wickets are key to success in T20 cricket and more so for a team like CSK. Their pacers need to bowl on the good-length and avoid giving any kind of width or bowling on the pads. They need to consistently bowl in the off-stump or the outside out-stump line.

The spin bowling duo of Karn Sharma/Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja can be encountered by Padikkal and Moeen Ali. They don’t have off-spinners to trouble them and Imran Tahir doesn’t seem to be in CSK’s plans. The spin duo is also unlikely to pose a big challenge for Kohli and AB de Villiers either. CSK does not have a hit-the-deck bowler/express pacer as well. So bouncing out susceptible players like Moeen or Padikkal seems tough.

All in all, CSK are missing versatility and they do need to pick powerplay wickets, anyhow.