Chennai Super Kings had been building momentum and appeared well placed to push deeper into the race for the playoffs before heading to Ekana Stadium. But a heavy defeat inflicted by Lucknow Super Giants has once again exposed issues within the yellow brigade at a particularly painful time. After the side was convincingly outplayed, the immediate question for CSK supporters was straightforward: what exactly went wrong?
Badrinath pinpoints CSK’s selection calls
Former CSK batter Subramaniam Badrinath offered a blunt breakdown of the situation. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the ex–IPL-winning star suggested that CSK’s decision-making—especially around their bowling options—did not match what the match demanded. In his view, it was “head-scratching” to go in with three left-arm seamers instead of trusting Akeal Hosein, who had been one of CSK’s more reliable performers throughout the season.
“CSK’s selections have been poor throughout the season. Akeal Hosein should have played this match. CSK have won 5 of the 6 matches he has played in,” Badrinath said. He added that Hosein had even done well on a difficult surface such as Wankhede, and that the management should have stuck with him rather than selecting Gurjapneet Singh.
Why Hosein’s role mattered
Badrinath stressed that Hosein has been central to CSK’s improved form, contributing strong bowling spells and helping drive their resurgence this year. Still, despite that track record, Hosein had been targeted earlier in the week during the opening game of the two-match series between the teams, with Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh doing the damage. That result may have influenced the CSK think-tank to consider alternatives on a wicket that appeared to offer help to the pacers.
“Use your strength, not just your personnel”
Even so, Badrinath argued that CSK already had pacers available, meaning they could have leaned into a spinner who offers a different angle and tempo. “Though the track favored pacers, you should have played to your strength, which is spin. Akeal would have added the much-needed variety. The side boundaries were also big, which would have helped him,” he said.
Batting delivered, but bowling failed
Ultimately, CSK managed to put runs on the board. Kartik Sharma produced a standout burst, and Shivam Dube struck with authority in the final over to set a target of 188. However, the chase never became truly stressful for Lucknow, as Mitchell Marsh smashed his way to 90 and Nicholas Pooran added late acceleration to ensure the job was completed with plenty of time remaining.
Marsh punished CSK’s bowling
Badrinath felt the bigger problem was not the batting effort, but the lack of bite from CSK’s bowling unit. He described it as “toothless,” pointing to the way the side failed to limit Marsh’s impact on a surface that, in his assessment, was still reasonably suited to fast bowlers.
“LSG looked like the superior bowling lineup, clearly on this track. MI helped CSK by beating PBKS, but CSK couldn’t help themselves,” he added. “CSK bowlers looked toothless as Mitchell Marsh smashed them. CSK were outplayed, especially in the bowling department.”
