Data Shorts: CSK's extreme chasing woes

As Abhishek Sharma raced to a 15-ball fifty against CSK on Saturday (April 18), the fastest for SRH, another high score seemed on the cards at a venue used to it in recent years. The hosts stood at 63/0 at the end of five overs. The on Cricbuzz at the point read: SRH 70%. Anshul Kamboj and Jamie Overton helped CSK pull it back by limiting them to 194/9. CSK raced to 110/3 by the halfway mark of their chase, and the win-probability had been reversed: CSK 69%.

However, as has been the case for the five-time winners for quite a few editions now, they failed to close out yet another chase, in stark contrast to what it was like in their prime years. Needing 84 off the final 10, the next five overs yielded 30/2 at run-a-ball. 54 off the final five still seemed gettable on a batting friendly track with a set Matthew Short and Shivam Dube at the crease and Jamie Overton to follow, but they fell short by 10. Ishan Kishan admitted that his side was "30-40 runs short" on the surface. Yet, his frontline bowlers with a combined experience of 18 IPL games to go with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy's exploits got the job done.

The result was an extension of CSK's rather terrible record in chases. Quite stunningly, they have been the second-worst side in chases in the IPL since 2024, only better than MI - the fellow joint-most successful team in the competition's history.

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The numbers make an even poor reading in chases of 175 or higher. CSK have lost 16 of the 18 games while chasing 175-plus in the IPL since 2020 (the first edition they failed to make it to the playoffs). The corresponding number across 2018 and 2019 was five wins and one defeat (). It may be noted that IPL 2020 and the 2021 second-leg in the UAE offered the most favourable conditions for batting second, as was the case at the T20 World Cup right after the 2021 edition.

They won each of the six games while chasing in their victorious 2021 campaign. Three of them featured 170-175 targets; Ruturaj Gaikwad was the Player of the Match in two and added 74 for the opening wicket with Faf du Plessis in the other. The highest in 2023 was 171 in a 15-overs shortened chase in the final, completed off the final ball with 10 needed off two. That was after Gaikwad had added 74 in 6.3 overs with Devon Conway earlier. The current skipper's record in chases has had a telling effect on his side's fate while batting second, as illustrated below.

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With batting friendly conditions on offer, captains winning the toss have opted to bowl in 24 of the 27 matches in IPL 2026 so far. CSK won the toss twice, opted to field on both occasions - vs RCB and vs SRH - but both resulted in defeats (they conceded 97 in the final five overs in the former). Overall, the chasing side has won 16 of the 26 completed games.

Almost midway through the league stage, CSK are placed seventh in the points table with three teams tied at six points above them, including their opponents on Saturday. Failing to close out games from a position of strength - as was the case in their most recent outing - will only dent their chances further.