Suresh Raina’s absence had an impact on CSK’s middle-order: Manoj Tiwary

Three-time champions Chennai Super Kings are almost eliminated from the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League with just three wins thus far in 10 fixtures. On Monday, the MS Dhoni-led side again registered a painful defeat against Rajasthan Royals to take the last spot on the points tally.

Their loss against Royals invited criticism from all over the world as the team’s batting line-up lacked intent and again failed to complement their bowlers. Batting first, the team looked vulnerable at 56 for four after 10 overs but there was still hope for a decent total owing to the presence of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease.

However, the duo couldn’t up the ante after playing for eight overs and stitching a 50-run partnership. There was no intent to play a big shot even in the death overs. While the captain lost his wicket after scoring 28 off 28 in the 18th over, Jadeja remained not out on 35 off 30 deliveries and CSK posted a paltry total of 125 runs on the board.

The 126-run chase wasn’t a huge score but Rajasthan looked in trouble when they lost their three wickets of Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson within five overs. However, soon the captain Steve Smith and swashbuckling right-hander Jos Buttler started opening up and easily chased down the target with more than 15 balls left.

Manoj Tiwary has advice for CSK

After CSK’s yet another loss, the Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary took to Twitter to advise the CSK management to rebuild the team from scratch in the next edition. He also emphasized the importance of Suresh Raina in the CSK contingent, who had refused to be a part of the T20 extravaganza this year citing personal reasons.

I believe its time for @ChennaiIPL to REBUILD the team before the next edition of #IPLT20 It’s quite evident the absence of Chinna Thala @ImRaina from d start has impacted their middle-order nd overall batting big time. Around 500-600 runs every season he used 2 score? #CSKvRR

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) October 19, 2020