For the very first time in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Chennai Super Kings get knocked out of the playoff race after Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by eight wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Ben Stokes scored a magnificent century as the Men in Pink chased down a mountain of 196 runs. With this, the Steve Smith-led side just didn’t jump to the sixth position in the team standings but officially brought curtains to CSK’s dismal campaign this season. Earlier in the day, MS Dhoni & Co defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets to mathematically stay in the playoff contention, but Rajasthan’s triumph has thrashed all the remaining hopes. RR vs MI Stat Highlights Dream11 IPL 2020.

CSK never looked like the team they were known this season as they were outplayed in the majority of the games. After winning the season opener by five wickets against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, they lost the plot completely and faced one thumping defeat after another. Keeping few games aside, their batting line-up looked completely fragile while the bowlers also weren’t able to do a magnificent job. Although one can say that the absence of Suresh Raina hurt the Yellow Army, they still were expected to put a far better show. IPL 2020 Points Table Updated.

Since the inception of IPL in 2008, CSK unarguably have been the most consistent sides under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Barring the 2016 & 2017 season aside when they got banned alongside Rajasthan Royals, Chennai qualified for the final four in all the remaining 10 seasons. They also  advanced to the finals a record eight times while won the trophy thrice (2010, 2011 & 2018), second most for any IPL side after Mumbai Indians (four titles).

With this, Chennai’s 100 % record of qualifying for the playoffs also came to an end. 2020 is undoubtedly showing unusual things. However, MS Dhoni’s troop still have two more games to play, and they have nothing but pride to play for.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2020 01:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).