The defending champion, Chennai Super Kings (CSK)showcased their trademark resilience and executed a strong campaign despite various challenges in the ongoing IPL 2024. CSK has had a mixed season so far, winning six of their 11 games so far in the ongoing IPL 2024.
However, injuries to key players like Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana and Deepak Chahar posed challenges for the five-time IPL champions. Despite this, CSK remained a strong contender as they sit comfortably in third place in the IPL 2024 points table and are aiming for their sixth title.
Well, CSK will face another setback in the ongoing IPL 2024 as fast bowler Pathirana is ruled out due to injury. Pathirana has returned to Sri Lanka to begin rehabilitation for a hamstring injury ahead of CSK’s 28-run win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dharamsala.
Matheesha Pathirana will be unavailable for the remainder of IPL 2024
A recent social media post shared by Pathirana suggested that he will not be available for the remainder of the ongoing race IPL 2024, and it will be a huge blow to CSK’s hopes of retaining the trophy. In his Instagram post, the right-arm pacer bid farewell to CSK and also expressed his wish that the IPL trophy remains with the defending champions.
Matheesha Pathirana shared a series of pictures from his IPL 2024 campaign with CSK and wrote in the caption, “A tough farewell with my only wish to see the IPL Champion 2024 trophy in CSK’s room soon! I am grateful to the CSK team for all the blessings and love from Chennai.”
Meanwhile, CSK pacer and fast bowler Deepak Chahar was recently scanned but the defending champions have not yet confirmed his official availability for the tournament. With left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman returning home to join the Bangladesh squad, CSK has only Richard Gleeson as the only fit overseas fast bowler in its lineup for the current season.
CSK crushed PBKS in Dharamshala
However, despite these setbacks, CSK managed to defeat PBKS in Dharamshala. After being invited to bat first, CSK posted a score of 167/9 against PBKS thanks to the combined efforts of Ravindra Jadeja (43), Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell (30).
As the overall defenders, Jadeja (3/20), Simarjeet Singh (2/16) and Tushar Deshpande (2/35) took the responsibility and produced a stunning performance that helped CSK score 28 runs at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday to beat. 5th of May.
With this win, CSK once again climbed to the 3rd position in the IPL 2024 points table with 12 points from 11 games in the tournament so far. They are only behind league leaders Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the overall standings. However, both KKR and RR have 16 points to their credit.
Notably, CSK will face Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 10, looking for their seventh win of the season to boost their playoff hopes.