Jofra Archer conceded only 13 runs from his three-over spell in the powerplay © BCCI/IPL A recurring theme in the IPL historically has been about setting the game in with the new ball first up, and 2025 has been no different. In the 11 IPL matches so far, the winning teams have scored at a rate of 11.16 per over in the powerplay, losing 10 wickets at an average of 73.7, while the corresponding numbers in defeats are 9.21 runs per over with 22 wickets at 27.63. No team has struggled more to get going from the outset than the Chennai Super Kings. The five-time winners scoring at merely 7.44 in the powerplay across their first three games, comfortably the lowest among the 10 teams and well below the overall competition rate of 10.18. For further clarity, the average powerplay score in the first 11 games has been 61. For CSK, it has been 45. At the heart of their inefficiency has been struggles against the short-balls first up. Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar tested them in RCB’s rare win at Chepauk, and Jofra Archer and Tushar Deshpande followed suit on Sunday, limiting them to 16/1 in the first four overs and subsequently to 42/1 after six, following which the asking rate breached 10-runs-an-over. RR quicks bowled 20 short-balls in the phase, and conceded 25, including the wicket of Rachin Ravindra. Six of the seven pull shots attempted off these deliveries were false strokes, including the two fours and a six. Since the start of IPL 2023, the current CSK batters have had poor numbers against short-balls in the first six overs, bar Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway. This prolific opening pair has been separated courtesy of Ravindra’s recent run. As a whole, the current CSK batters strike at a mere 121.90 against short-balls in the phase across all T20s since 2023, comfortably the lowest among all the IPL 2025 squads, and well below the combined strike-rate of 145.74 in the timeframe. CSK batters vs short-balls in Overs 1-6 in the IPL since 2023 Player Runs Balls Dismissals Ave SR Dot% Bnd% Ruturaj Gaikwad 225 146 2 112.5 154.1 33.5 22.6 Devon Conway 106 66 1 106 160.6 32.3 27.27 Rahul Tripathi 82 65 7 11.71 126.15 44.6 20 Rachin Ravindra 66 55 4 16.5 120 45.6 16.36 Deepak Hooda 35 31 3 11.66 112.9 33.3 12.9 Sam Curran 29 28 0 NA 103.57 33.3 10.71 *min. 25 balls Batting vs short-balls in Overs 1-6 in T20s since 2023 (grouped by IPL 2025 squads) Squad Ave SR Dot% Bnd% RR 34.33 172.74 38.2 30.18 SRH 37.2 169.6 37.7 29.93 PBKS 35.5 151.78 43.3 25.89 MI 27.63 149.94 40.9 23.03 DC 34.7 146.82 42.5 24.25 RCB 31.52 145.32 38.5 22.4 KKR 27.69 144.14 41.8 22.49 LSG 31.35 133.63 41.6 20.7 GT 61.6 132.94 38.5 20 CSK 30.6 121.9 38.9 17.63 *where data available Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar collectively returned 3/10 off the 15 short balls they delivered at Chepauk in the first six overs. Rahul Tripathi, the lone batter to be dismissed in the phase in their win against the Mumbai Indians, was undone by a Deepak Chahar bouncer. The next new-ball attack CSK would be up against is led by Mitchell Starc, who too, switched from his conventional full swinging deliveries to short-pitched ones to great effect earlier in the day. The new-ball burst wasn’t the only smarts RR executed with the ball on Sunday. Despite Archer being economical in his three overs and usually a designated death-overs specialist in white-ball cricket, Riyan Parag opted for Maheesh Theekshana in the 18th over and the former CSK spinner responded by conceding just six runs. The two batters at the crease at that point – protagonists to numerous thrilling finishes in the IPL – have been striking at less than run-a-ball against spin since 2020.
