There are two characters in this story. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. Both are the most successful captains in IPL history. Mumbai has won the title five times under Rohit's captaincy. While Dhoni has made Chennai the champion four times. But last year there was a 'disaster' with both teams. First, we will talk about Dhoni and then Rohit Sharma. Date 10 May 2023.

There was a contest between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals. Dhoni's team won the match by 27 runs. Despite this, Chennai had added only 167 runs on the scoreboard. The difference of 27 runs in victory and defeat shows that Chennai did not give any chance to Delhi. With this victory, Chennai Super Kings got 15 points in their account. He is in the second position in the points table.

Image Credit: Indian Express

Chennai Super Kings are sure to make it to the playoffs!

The big thing is that he still has to play 2 more matches. That is, Chennai has a chance to go up to 19 points. Chennai is also getting a good break in the middle of the last two matches. He has to play at home against Kolkata on the 14th. After 5 days, on the 20th, the last league match is to be played in Delhi. All these equations show that it is now certain that Chennai Super Kings will make it to the playoffs. Yes, there is definitely a screw about whether she will remain in the top 2 teams or on the third, or fourth position. You are aware of the advantages that the top two teams get in the point table.

How did Dhoni brighten the fortunes of the team?

Dhoni's team suffered the biggest setback at the beginning of the season. Ben Stokes was not fully fit. He could bat but not bowl. Chennai bought him at a price of more than sixteen crores. But he had no other way but to shake hands. In his absence, Dhoni worked on Plan B's. You will be surprised to know that now Ben Stokes is fit but he is not getting a chance in the playing 11.

It is not easily digestible in the world of cricket that a player like Ben Stokes could not make a place in the playing 11. But Dhoni pays attention to the work instead of the name. He gets Mahesh Teekshana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Moin Ali to do 10 overs, all three spinners together give only 51 runs in 10 overs. Dhoni does not make Pathirana bowl in the first 12 overs. He handles the ball for the first time in the 13th over. That is, Pathirana had to bowl four overs in the next eight overs. This whole strategy is only for one match. Dhoni has been working on such small but big-impact strategies for the last 12 matches.

Now just remember the year 2022

Let us now take you to 2022. Chennai Superkings was in the ninth position. In the 15-year history of IPL, it happened only for the second time that Chennai finished in the last two positions. Earlier in 2020 also, the team had finished in the seventh position. Then 8 teams used to play in IPL. In 2022, Dhoni had to take over the captaincy in the middle of the season. Earlier Ravindra Jadeja was captaining. Last season, Chennai Super Kings won only 4 matches in 14 league matches. A lot of questions were raised on the team. Questions were raised on Dhoni. There were reports of a dispute between Dhoni and Jadeja. Overall, a lot had happened after which everyone's eyes were on the Chennai team this season. Dhoni showed his courage.

Rohit Sharma's test is yet to come

Now let's talk about the second character of the story. Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain of the league. The condition of Dhoni in Chennai in the last season was the same in his Mumbai. Mumbai also had only 4 wins in 14 league matches. With 8 points, the most successful team in the league had fallen on the last rung. It had never happened in the history of the league that Mumbai finished last. Mumbai's worst position was in 2009 when it finished seventh in the eight-team tournament.

Now come back to 2023. Even in this season, the start of Mumbai was not good. In the first two matches, they had to face defeat by a big margin. In the first match, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated him by 8 wickets with 22 balls remaining. In the second match, Chennai defeated by 7 wickets with 11 balls remaining. After this Mumbai made a comeback and has 12 points with 6 wins in 11 matches. At present, he is in the third position in the point table. Mumbai has a chance to go up to 18 points by winning the remaining three matches. Because there will be a lot of guarantee of getting a place in the playoffs at number 18. But if the game slips in one of the next three matches, then the matter will come to 16 points. Where the decision will be taken from the net run rate.

Rohit Sharma's form is also troubling

Rohit Sharma has batted poorly in 11 matches this season. The total credit in his account is 191 runs. The average is just 17.36. It is good that batsmen like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Tilak Verma brought the team back on track. Now the test is of Rohit Sharma. He has to show the fire of his bat.

If Dhoni has brought the team from the ninth position to the playoffs in 2022, then the fans of Mumbai Indians also have the same wish. The screw is that if Mumbai has to play in the playoffs, then Rohit Sharma will have to return to form. Along with his captaincy, Dhoni has also put some color in between with his bat this season. Rohit has looked absolutely unsuccessful on this front. Now he will have to take the responsibility of turning the tide for Mumbai Indians by coming on the 'front foot'. This big test of Rohit is yet to come.