Jadeja lambasts poor death bowling for sixth defeat this season

After winning the thrilling encounter against their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their sixth loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 as they were beaten by a margin of 11 runs by Punjab Kings (PBKS) last night. Chasing a challenging total of 188 runs, CSK could score only 176 runs at the end of 20 overs despite a breathtaking 39-ball-78 by Ambati Rayudu. 

The CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja held their poor death bowling responsible for the harsh defeat. When enquired about the things that went wrong for CSK in the game, Jadeja answered that they couldn't execute the bowling plans properly in the last 2-3 overs, and that resulted in PBKS posting an above-par total. The star Indian all-rounder admitted that they had the opportunity to restrict PBKS to around 170 or 175 but failed miserably in their mission. 

"I think we started very well. With the new ball, we bowled in good areas, but I thought we gave away 10-15 runs in the last 2-3 overs, and we didn't execute our plan very well", Jadeja said. "I think [Rayudu] was batting brilliantly, but as I said, we could have restricted them under 170-175," he further added. 

Talking about their chase, the veteran southpaw admitted that they didn't capitalise on the field restrictions in the powerplay phase, which proved to be costly for them in the closing half of the match.

The skipper urged his side to display an improved batting performance with a greater intent from the batters in the first six overs. 

"I think not getting a good start in the first six. We're not putting runs on the board in the first six. So we need to improve on that and come back strong," the 33-year-old concluded. 

Jadeja seems accurate in his views as CSK bowlers conceded 64 runs in the last five overs against PBKS and their batters scored just 32 runs in the powerplay. However, note that CSK bowlers have an economy of 11.09 at the death in IPL 2022, which shows they have been ordinary in the last five overs. 

Similarly, they have been slow starters in batting, evident from their run rate of just 6.83 in the powerplay. Therefore, they certainly need to resolve these issues before it becomes too late. 

With this defeat, CSK continues to be at the ninth place in the points table and will face SRH in their next game on 1st May.