Home no longer a fortress for CSK

In the past, a home game for Chennai Super Kings would have started with them as clear favourites. The MA Chidambaram stadium was a virtual fortress throughout the last season as Super Kings went undefeated at home. In the final, they thrashed an in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore with M Vijay and Michael Hussey adding 159 for the opening wicket. However, all that has changed this year. Super Kings have struggled to win consistently at home and have suffered three losses from seven games, including one in the opening match of the season against Mumbai Indians. Two further losses against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab have put the two-time champions in a tight spot from which they have to win all their remaining games to qualify for the play-offs.

Super Kings now face the unenviable task of taking on Delhi Daredevils, who are the table-toppers presently. Daredevils were the last team to beat Super Kings in Chennai before their unbeaten run in 2011.

The stats in the table below clearly highlight Super Kings' woes at home this season. They won 14 and lost just two matches at home in the 2010 and 2011 seasons and had an average difference (difference between batting and bowling averages) of 5.37 and 15.93 in the two seasons at home. Their run-rate difference (difference between batting run-rate and bowling economy-rate) at home in the previous two seasons was 0.71 and 1.05 respectively. In sharp contrast, the average difference at home in this season is -1.56 and the run-rate difference is -0.07. While they managed a positive value of the average difference in away matches too in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, they have failed to do so in 2012.

In the 17 matches at home during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Super Kings' batsmen registered 17 fifty-plus scores. However, in seven matches this season, all they have managed is four fifty-plus scores.

David Warner, who made a mockery of a huge target set by Deccan Chargers, will be a major threat for Super Kings' bowlers along with the in-form Virender Sehwag. Warner has now scored five centuries in Twenty20 games and is only two behind Chris Gayle, who has seven centuries. Warner's century was his second in the IPL and fourth in India. While his previous IPL century came against Knight Riders in 2010, he also scored two consecutive centuries in the Champions League Twenty20 in 2011. A remarkable aspect of all his centuries is that he was never dismissed in any of the innings.