March 30, 2026. The day when the Chennai Super Kings were set to open their campaign against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. There was no Dewald Brevis, no MS Dhoni, no Nathan Ellis and no Spencer Johnson, the replacement of Ellis. Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja were traded to the Rajasthan Royals for Sanju Samson. There was an air of uncertainty and under-confidence in this CSK lineup. As it turned out, CSK were humiliated.
Not once, not twice, but thrice. First to RR after being caught napping in a T20 game of old times. 127 chased down by RR in 12.1. Then to the Punjab Kings at home. 209/5, chased down in 18.4 without much of an issue. Then their bowling attack was mauled by the reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, for 250 runs. In reply, CSK were bowled out for 207. But things were changing in the second and the third game. The batters were putting runs on the board, but the bowlers were not able to restrict the opposition.
The result came in the fourth outing against the Delhi Capitals. CSK put 212/2 with Samson scoring a hundred and the team winning by 23 runs. The Super Kings put in what looked like their most complete game against KKR then. 192/5 at a tricky Chepauk surface as KKR were restricted to 160/7. The pieces look to be falling in place, but not all.
The opening jigsaw that is not falling in place
In four of the five matches this season, CSK's opening wicket has given them a total of 48 runs. Sanju Samson took three innings to fire, but when he did, CSK started winning. But five games into this tournament, their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, has not been firing. Not looking like the usual self he used to be. Samson has been covering for him. But more so, an 18-year-old youngster has been filling in the huge gap that gets exposed when the opening combination does not get going.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad struggle
Gaikwad has been struggling, and there is no doubt about that. He has made just 63 runs in the five innings and took 58 balls. A strike rate of 108.62. The numbers speak. Not just that, his dismissals speak louder. More often than not, he has been dismissed trying to force things, trying to take the bowlers on, but miscuing. Not to forget that Gaikwad has had three strong seasons opening the innings for CSK in 2021, 2023 and 2024. There has been a reason why he and the management want to back him for the role.
In two of those seasons, his strike rate was over 140. In one, it was in the shade under it. But in today's T20 cricket, where openers are going at around 250 strike rate, his mere 108.62 puts him under scrutiny. Even those 140ish are not on par with today's game.
Mhatre turns out to be the saviour
While Gaikwad has been struggling, Mhatre has answered the power play calls more often than not. It was the same against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 14 when Gaikwad was dismissed, slog-sweeping one to deep mid-wicket. Mhatre came and raced away. He hit three fours and two sixes in the first seven balls that he faced, hitting them for 25 runs. Even Samson, who had started off with three straight boundaries, was at 16 from 11.
Mhatre didn't bat till eternity as he was dismissed on 38 off 17 balls. But the impact was created, one that KKR found it hard to recover from. Even KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane highlighted that the CSK's powerplay hitting took them ahead in the game, which they could not replicate.
"190 on this wicket was really good, especially the powerplay that they got, 70-odd runs. After that, pulling back to 190 was an amazing job from our bowling unit. I thought initially that with our batting, we just got 36 or 37 runs in the power play. I thought that was really important. Middle phase, to hitting spinners was slightly challenging, but apart from that, the wicket was really good," Rahane said after the loss.
Is Mhatre the solution to CSK's opening problems?
In comparison to Gaikwad, Mhatre has been batting at a much quicker pace. When he made his debut last season and played in seven matches, he scored 240 runs at a strike rate of 188.97. He was majorly out of form for India U19 but has now found his mojo back in IPL 2026. In the five innings that he has played, the 18-year-old has made 171 runs at a strike rate of 171. And that too when CSK have lost a wicket, mostly in the powerplay.
If Mhatre goes to the top, and Gaikwad comes to No.3, there could be more than one reason for CSK to be relieved. Gaikwad plays spin well, and Mhatre has less experience than him.
CSK's puzzle seems to be falling in place after those two wins. The bowling is standing up as the likes of Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad and Anshul Kamboj have started to do wonders. Samson and Mhatre are firing, Sarfaraz Khan is infusing the impetus, and Dewald Brevis is a beast of his own. Shivam Dube is CSK's go-to finisher. From the time when CSK looked timid and underconfident, they have started to find the pieces to the puzzle falling into place, but the opening one remains unsolved. Gaikwad, the captain, would be the first to know what to do. He would be eager to score. But there is not much time.
