Cheteshwar Pujara says Chennai Super Kings middle order does not look ‘completely ready’ after loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Ipl News

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Cheteshwar Pujara said that the Chennai team might lack the firepower in their middle order which might come back to haunt them in a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL). This was after CSK had lost 50 runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Chepauk on Friday, their heaviest ever home defeat while chasing.
“There is a lot of concern in the batting line-up outside of Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad because their middle-order will have to click at some point,” Pujara said in an interaction with ESPNCricinfo.
“They will have to start scoring runs quickly. They rely heavily on their middle-order. Yes, their top-order is their strength, but when they don’t perform well that’s the time the middle-order has to step up, it doesn’t look like they’re completely ready for it. It looks like they’ll need better surfaces to get back into form and when they start playing at home again, they’ll be able to perform well,” he added.
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The veteran batter who was with CSK in the 2021 season, said that the die-hard CSK fans would be hurt after such an abject surrender in the match against RCB.
“There’s a lot to learn for CSK,” he said. “I’ve been part of the franchise. If you’re a CSK fan, you’d really be disappointed today. You tend to lose, but the way they lost this game will put a lot of dents in the dressing room,” he added.

In the match, chasing a target of 197, CSK ended up at 146 for 8 in 20 overs, their first defeat to RCB at Chepauk since 2008. Opener Rachin Ravindra top-scored for CSK with 41 while the next best batter was former captain MS Dhoni who remained not out on 30 off 16 balls.
Josh Hazlewood (3/21), Yash Dayal (2/18) and Liam Livingstone (2/28) were the main wicket takers for RCB.
(With agency inputs)