IPL 2022: Frail batting behind disastrous starts for heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings

In a first for both teams, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have lost their first four matches in IPL 2022. A streak of four defeats is rare for most sides. But Chennai and Mumbai have, between them, shared nine out of 14 IPL titles. Their immense fanbase make them probably the most popular franchise-owned T20 sides in the whole world.

Chennai, the defending champions, struggled to reach 131/5 in the tournament opener, against Kolkata Knight Riders. They turned things around with 210/7 against Lucknow Super Giants, but Lucknow outdid them at hitting. Against Punjab Kings, they collapsed to 126, while they scored 154/7 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were without a win until that match.

As is evident, barring the Lucknow match, Chennai’s batting has never taken off in this tournament. Their openers, Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad, had been among the pillars of their success in 2021. Gaikwad had won the Orange Cap, while du Plessis finished two runs behind. Between them, they amassed a whopping 79 runs per match. Their strike rates (du Plessis 138, Gaikwad 136) were decent but not exceptional, but that had to do with the relatively low-scoring matches in the second leg of the tournament.

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Come 2022, and Chennai did not retain du Plessis in the mega auctions. They retained Gaikwad, who has had a torrid time so far. He has lasted a mere 25 balls for his 18, and has hit only three fours – one fewer than the number of innings he has batted in.

But Chennai’s problem does not end there. Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali had all struck over 135 in 2021. They were a batting unit so good that they did not hesitate to leave out Suresh Raina – a man they would probably have wanted to have this season.

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Moeen and Uthappa have retained their form, but they have not scored as many runs. MS Dhoni has done better this season, but that has more to do with his wretched form in 2021. Shivam Dube has been a revelation, but his ordinary bowling has forced Chennai to play him as a specialist batter.

With both Deepak Chahar and Adam Milne out with injuries, they could have done with Dube’s bowling. At this point, they have little option but to use up three of their four overseas options as fast bowlers – Bravo, Chris Jordan, and Dwaine Pretorius.

Perhaps a change in batting order can solve the problems. Rajvardhan Hangargekar, a member of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning squad earlier this year, is a power hitter of some repute as well as a reasonably good bowler.

Mumbai did not make it to the playoffs in 2021, but they did win the title in 2019 and 2020. This year, they let go of the Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal – while retaining Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, and Suryakumar Yadav and buying Ishan Kishan from the auctions. As things turned out, Suryakumar missed the first two matches, while neither Rohit nor Kishan has been able to score quickly.

Mumbai started with 177/5 against Delhi Capitals – a total they failed to defend. Chasing 194 against Rajasthan Royals, they finished on 170/8. Their total of 161/4 seemed to be enough for Kolkata Knight Riders until Pat Cummins stepped in to reduce the contest to a farce. And against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they got 151/6 – their lowest total of the tournament.

Mumbai’s batting has, thus, never exactly failed. However, while better than Chennai’s, the Mumbai batters have generally not clicked despite the advent of young Tilak Varma, who has impressed all and sundry. Of course, these are early days for the immensely talented Dewald Brevis and Tim David, who will get ample opportunities this season to justify their selection.

As is evident, barring Suryakumar, every Mumbai batter has been through a slump since 2020, the season Mumbai defended their title. Pollard’s 2021 strike rate may seem impressive, but that is significantly lower than what he had achieved in 2019 and 2020.

Of course, these are still early days in this edition. Neither Mumbai nor Chennai may qualify, but they have 10 matches left – ample time to zero in on a proper batting combination to last not only this season but beyond.

Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketNews and co-author of Sachin and Azhar at Cape Town.

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