Chennai Super Kings will have to treat every remaining game as a “final” after their defeat to Lucknow Super Giants left their IPL campaign hanging by a thread, said batting coach Michael Hussey. The five-time champions now staring at a virtual must-win situation in their final two league matches. CSK were outplayed by an already-eliminated LSG side as Mitchell Marsh’s blistering 38-ball 90 powered the hosts to a comfortable chase of 188 on a pace-friendly surface on Friday. The defeat left Ruturaj Gaikwad’s side stranded on 12 points from 13 matches, turning their final two league fixtures into virtual knockout contests.
“Well, I mean, I actually love this time of the tournament because it’s like every game is like a final, you know, and we’re in that situation now,” Hussey said, with CSK now needing victories in both their remaining games while also relying on a few other results to go in their favour.
“We’re going to have to win our last two matches. I mean, I haven’t studied the table that closely. Yeah, there’s a lot of teams fighting out for that probably the last couple of spots in the top-four,” he said.
“This is where (stage of the tournament) the pressure is really on everyone, not just us, but all the other teams as well. And you can see some crazy things happen. So we’re still (in with) a chance…we still have belief that we can make it through,” he said during the post-match press conference.
Much like CSK skipper Gaikwad, who remained unfazed by the defeat and insisted the playoff task was still manageable, Hussey too struck a calm note, saying the team was building towards an exciting climax to the league stage.
“We’re going to obviously have to take care of our business. Probably need a couple of results to go our way as well. But that’s the nature of this tournament. And I feel like it’s really building to a really nice climax.
“And that’s why I think it’s one of the best tournaments in the world, because at this stage of the tournament, you know, there’s only two teams that are actually definitely out. Even even the teams that are below us are still a chance, you know, theoretically to make the final. So I think it’s an awesome opportunity for everyone. But, yeah, that’s the way we’ll be looking at it,” added Hussey.
Hussey felt CSK’s batters had done a commendable job in posting 187 on a pitch offering pace and bounce, but admitted the bowlers’ inability to break the opening stand between Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis early allowed LSG to turn the contest into a one-sided affair.
He added that Marsh’s experience of batting on quick Australian surfaces helped him adjust seamlessly to the bouncy conditions on offer.
“Our guys did a pretty good job to get to that score, 180, what did we get, 187. I thought it was a good effort to get there because it did look challenging, especially with, you know, they (LSG) had a good pace attack, hit the pitch hard, got some good pace and bounce, so it was a really good effort.
“And then, I think, the way they started, you know, they obviously were going to come out pretty hard, take their chances and if they get away, they’re hard to stop. You know, Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis, they both enjoy playing on those sort of faster, bouncier pitches coming from Australia.” Marsh is a player who is always dangerous when he has his confidence up and that’s what happened on Friday, feels Hussey.
“So there was a bit of an advantage there and then once they get their confidence up and impose themselves on the game, then it can be hard to stop. So, yeah, obviously the plan was to try and get a couple of early wickets and then really put the pressure on them through the middle and yeah, we just couldn’t unfortunately break that opening partnership until it was probably a little bit too late,” said Hussey.
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