A humiliating seven-wicket defeat against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday brought a major blow to Chennai Super Kings' chances of making it to the IPL 2026 playoffs. The win was the first for LSG in three matches and left CSK under immense pressure with just two games remaining in the league stage.
The Super Kings did well with the bat after putting up a target of 187/5, but their opponents chased the target with more than 3 overs left. The defeat affected CSK's Net Run Rate and pushed them further down in the standings.
Former CSK batter S Badrinath pointed fingers at the team's captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's decision as he claimed a 'massive tactical error' was made even before the first ball was bowled.
Badrinath Criticizes Team Selection
Badrinath's point of concern was leaving spinner Akeal Hosein out of the side when the conditions in Lucknow were favorable for spin bowling.
He posted on X:
"CSK losing because of team selection errors is becoming a pattern this season. Leaving out Akeal Hosein on this track made zero sense. Another game, another missed opportunity."
The former CSK player believes that the team was unable to make use of the conditions present and lost out on a huge opportunity to go up the IPL 2026 points table when PBKS had lost their match.
LSG opener Mitchell Marsh played a remarkable innings of 90 off just 38 balls to dismantle the opposition attack completely and take the game away.
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Gaikwad Stays Calm Despite Defeat
After the game, Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged the bowling performance was less than hoped for, but that the team would not be too worried with other league games still to come.
Gaikwad said:
"I felt there was a bit of something for the fast bowlers. You know, when we batted, we found it difficult to hit it off the hard lengths probably, their bowlers executed it really well. But I think we were looking at 160 or 170 and we ended up getting 180."
The CSK skipper applauded the Lucknow team's batting and stressed the need to make quick improvements for upcoming matches.
"Just make sure we come back and improve what are the areas we need to improve and yes, try and adapt and assess the conditions as quickly as possible."
The CSK remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, however, the five-time champions have no more margin for error in the IPL 2026.
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