IPL 2020 Week 5: CSK out of Playoff contention for first time in IPL History!

And just like that in a year which had already turned out to be alien, CSK's decimation by the hands of Mumbai Indians and their confirmed exit in the IPL league stage just made things tough for every Indian cricket fan in some ways or the other. We, at Bharat Army, take a look at what went wrong for CSK and the rise of Kings Xi Punjab in week 5 of IPL 2020:

IPL 2020 Match 41: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings

The three-time IPL champions were blown away by the defending champions at Sharjah by ten wickets. The first time they have lost by that big a margin!

Sam Curran scored his first half-century in the Indian Premier League, 52 off 47 balls. And took his team to a respectable total of 114/9. He was dismissed off the last ball of the inning after the highest ninth-wicket partnership in the IPL history, 43 off 31 balls. MI pace duo of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah closed in on the IPL purple cap leader board with 17 and 16 respectively.

Rubbing salt in the wounds of their arch-rivals, Mumbai Indians who were playing in the absence of their captain, Rohit Sharma, made it look worse for Chennai with the bat as well. Ishan Kishan opened the inning with Quinton de Kock and took his team to a win and an early finish.

The dominant victory takes MI to the top of the IPL table with a far superior NRR than others. For CSK it seems the end of the road as they will look towards next year’s mega IPL auction to make some drastic changes to their squad.

My Ratings:

MI – 10 / 10

CSK – 6 / 10

IPL 2020 Match 40: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals 

A must-win game for both the sides, this was a crucial match which no side could afford to lose. Winning the toss SRH fielded first, a decision which left a few people baffled. For Rajasthan few of their batsmen got starts but no one was able to convert them into a big score. Sanju Samson was the highest scorer of the inning with 36 runs.  A late flourish from Riyan Parag and Jofra Archer helped RR put a decent target on the board.

Jason Holder, who was playing in his first IPL game this season was the pick of SRH bowlers with 3 wickets to his name.

SRH was off to a bad start as Jofra Archer dismissed David Warner and Jonny Bairstow quickly to put SRH in a spot of bother. Captain Steve Smith missed the trick by not giving Archer his third over in the powerplay. Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar played brilliantly to not lose any further wicket and take the team over the line. It was a much-needed win for Hyderabad and a strong display from their middle-order which proved that they are not just reliant on two players to score big.

This was a very important win which helps SRH, keep their hopes of Playoffs alive.

My Ratings:

SRH – 9 / 10

RR – 8 / 10 

IPL 2020 Match 39: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Expect the unexpected, that is what IPL magic is all about. Before the start of the match, KKR had a batting lineup easily capable of putting a large score on board. But that wasn’t the case to be as a brilliant bowling display from RCB had Kolkata reeling at  32-5. The man responsible for the downfall was Mohammed Siraj who was included in the team before the match. He bowled the spell off his career and it was a treat to watch, especially, for all the RCB cricket fans.

With half the batting order back in the pavilion, it was up to skipper Eoin Morgan to salvage the innings and ensure that KKR plays all of the possible deliveries. Morgan was the highest scorer of the innings with 30 runs. KKR was able to put just 84 runs on the board after 20 overs.

Chasing such a small total, RCB needed to ensure that they don't lose quick wickets.  Though RCB lost a couple of wickets in quick succession the likes of Virat Kohli made sure there was no further damage as they completed a dominant win to send a strong message across the competition that they mean business.

My Ratings:

RCB – 10/10

KKR – 6 /10

IPL 2020 Match 38: Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab

A brilliant DC side faced KXIP which needed to win all of the remaining matches in the quest to stay alive for a spot in the IPL playoffs. Delhi has relied on Shikhar Dhawan as of late give the great form he has been and the batting woes of Prithvi Shaw.

'Gabbar' as Dhawan is fondly called created IPL history as he scored a century for the second consecutive game to put DC in a strong position. Delhi was well poised to put a huge total on board but some excellent death bowling helped Punjab restrict them to a par total on the ground. For Delhi other than Dhawan no one contributed much which was a bit disappointing given how good DC has been performing in IPL 2020. Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Punjab bowlers taking two wickets.

Punjab lost in-form batsmen, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal without troubling the scorers much. Universal boss Chris Gayle seems determined to cover up for his absence in the earlier part of IPL Tournament as he scored some quick runs before being dismissed. The match was in perfect balance and a couple more wickets would have put Delhi in an advantageous position but Nicholas Pooran had some other plans.

He scored a quickfire half-century which included some breathtaking shots to put KXiP in a strong position. Glenn Maxwell played an important knock of 30-odd runs which would boost his confidence after a forgettable tournament with the bat.

In the end, KXIP were able to finish the game in the 19th over to continue their rise from the bottom and kept their hopes alive to qualify for the IPL playoffs.

My Ratings:

 DC – 8 / 10

 KXIP – 9 / 10

IPL 2020 Match 37: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals

It was a must-win the game for CSK as a loss would have left them in the bottom half of the IPL Standings. RR was in the same situations as they came into the match needing 2 crucial points to continue their quest to qualify for the IPL playoffs. 

Batting first CSK got off to a dodgy start as they lost their two inform batsmen cheaply. MS Dhoni who has been disappointing with the bat this year got a chance to take his time and settle in. He along with Ravindra Jadeja put up a much-needed partnership but that only took CSK to 125.

Chasing a modest total, Rajasthan were off to a rocky start as Deepak Chahar provided quick breakthroughs in the power play to reduce them to 28-3 in the fifth over.  Jos Buttler and captain Steve Smith used their experience to hold their nerve and navigate the difficult period. Once that was over, Buttler showed his class as he made a well made 70* along with Smith who ensured that no wickets fell from the other end as they both took RR over the line.

This has been a very disappointing season for CSK and their fans as they are not used to this kind of performance from their team. CSK looks down and out with Dhoni mentioning the lack of spark in the youngsters.

My Ratings:

RR – 9.5 / 10

CSK – 7 / 10