“Return of Captain Cool,” declared a hopeful placard in the stands as MS Dhoni took guard against Varun Chakaravarthy. For a moment, all of Chepauk believed in a fairytale comeback, a resurrection of a flailing season.
Instead, it turned out to be a return to forget. For Dhoni. For his men. And most heartbreakingly, for the Chepauk faithful. In all their years, they’ve never witnessed a performance this abject. A five-match losing streak. A home fortress reduced to rubble. A familiar roar replaced by stunned silence.
This was an eagerly anticipated game despite CSK having lost four on the bounce leading into it. Their favourite star was back in the hotseat, at the age of 43, when it was least expected. The toss went CSK’s way too. KKR chose to bowl, which played right into CSK’s hands: the surface was expected to slow down, and after repeated failures in chases, they finally had a chance to bat first and dictate terms. Anshul Kamboj’s debut for the franchise too had been eagerly anticipated.
However, once the ball set rolling, it was all KKR. The initial incision came from Moeen Ali, once part of the yellow camp, who made an immediate impact with the big wicket of Devon Conway. Moeen bowled a wicket-maiden, the second time CSK have suffered such a fate. The stage was then set for Rahul Tripathi to make the most of his second chance at making an impression for his new franchise following Ruturaj Gaikwad’s injury. But before he could even open his account, the other opener returned to the pavilion.
After five overs, CSK were limping at 18/2, well on course to rewriting the season’s worst PowerPlay score, which unsurprisingly, already belonged to them.
At this point, a few fans could be heard pleading, ‘dei adinga da‘ (hey please hit) – a desperate call for boundaries. Vijay Shankar responded briefly with a couple of hits, nudging the run-rate past six. That, though, was the final spark on the night.
Tripathi’s innings was nothing short of a struggle. His issues against pace with the new ball were evident prior to getting axed from the XI. However, against a three-man spin attack, batting at No.3 with no real pace threat except for Harshit Rana, this was Tripathi’s chance to return to his comfort zone. But he looked completely out of rhythm and Sunil Narine ended the charade by breaching his defence. That forced CSK to promote R Ashwin up the order to tackle spin. Already under fire for underwhelming returns with the ball, the veteran’s stay lasted seven balls and produced a solitary run.
The worst, however, was still to come.
Desperate to salvage their innings, CSK opted to use their impact sub after Ravindra Jadeja’s dismissal. In came Deepak Hooda, another Indian batter enduring a torrid season. Four balls later, he was gone for a duck.
And then, at 72 for 7, Dhoni walked out, welcomed by the loudest cheers on the night as well as a slip and a forward short leg. This was more than nostalgia. It was faith. A desperate hope that the talisman would script a turnaround. But with Narine and Chakaravarthy still having overs in hand, the odds were stacked. Dhoni, historically vulnerable to this duo, fell almost immediately. Narine enhanced his already formidable record against him.
Silence. Total silence.
From thereon, there were no more pleas to make. The writing was pretty much on the wall. One unwanted record after another followed. CSK managed just one six in their entire innings. KKR hit more inside 1.1 overs of their chase. The holders ended up clearing the ropes 10 times – a demolition job that was completed with 59 balls left in the chase.
Five consecutive losses. Three of them at home. For the first time in history, CSK’s campaign felt like it was slipping into unfamiliar territory – irrelevance. And an evening that began with hope ended as a dark blot in CSK’s otherwise storied history.
