Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have struggled with consistency in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The four-time IPL champions started the season with a new captain in the form of Ravindra Jadeja. MS Dhoni had stepped down as the captain of the team just a couple of days before the start of the competition. However, Dhoni’s decision did not turn out to be a great one and midway through IPL 2022, Jadeja handed back the captaincy to the former India skipper.

Amidst all these, CSK’s performance on the field has been unimpressive. At present, they are languishing at the ninth spot in the points table after managing just 4 wins from 11 games. CSK have struggled to win a few games on the trot and that has prevented them from getting any momentum in IPL 2022. They started the season with four defeats in a row before registering their first win. After that, they lost three and won three to keep their slim playoffs hopes alive.

CSK are not in a great spot at the moment as far as making it to the playoffs is concerned. They, however, still have a slim chance of progressing ahead. The MS Dhoni-led side does not have its fate in its own hands but they can still progress to the next round if other results go their way.

Here is how CSK could qualify for the playoffs:

• Rajasthan Royals lose all of their remaining three matches. They are currently in the third spot with 7 wins from 11 games.
• Just like the Royals, CSK also need Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose their remaining two matches to finish the league stage with 14 points.
• Delhi Capitals manage to win only one of their remaining games. CSK would be hoping that Delhi beat Royals but lose to Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians.
• CSK further need Sunrisers Hyderabad to win only 1 of their remaining 3 matches to finish with 12 points. For CSK to go ahead, they need SRH to beat Kolkata Knight Riders but lose to Mumbai and Punjab.
• Kolkata Knight Riders manage to win only 1 of their next two matches to finish on 12 points.
• Punjab win 2 of their next 3 matches to finish with 14 points but with a lesser NRR than CSK.

At the same time, CSK need to win all of their remaining games and also with a big margin to improve their run rate. If all these scenarios become true, then only the Chennai-based outfit will be able to make it to the playoffs once again.