According to batting coach Michael Hussey, the Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 campaign is in jeopardy after their loss to the Lucknow Super Giants, therefore they will need to consider every remaining game as a “final.”
The five-time winners’ final two league games against Sunrisers Hyderabad (May 18) and Gujarat Titans (May 21) are now practically must-wins.
Mitchell Marsh’s brilliant 38-ball 90 propelled the hosts to a comfortable chase of 188 on a pace-friendly track on Friday, outplaying CSK by seven wickets against an already-eliminated LSG team.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team was left with 12 points from 13 games after the loss, making their next two league games virtual knockout contests.
“Well, I mean, I actually love this time of the tournament because it’s like every game is like a final, you know, and we’re in that situation now,” Hussey said as CSK now has to win both of their remaining games in addition to depending on a few other outcomes to work in their favor.
“We’re going to have to win our last two matches. I mean, I haven’t studied the table that closely. Yeah, there’s a lot of teams fighting out for that probably the last couple of spots in the top-four,” he said.
“This is where (stage of the tournament) the pressure is really on everyone, not just us, but all the other teams as well. And you can see some crazy things happen. So we’re still (in with) a chance…we still have belief that we can make it through,” PTI quoted Hussey as saying during the post-match press conference.
Similar to CSK captain Gaikwad, who was unmoved by the loss and maintained that the playoff challenge was still doable, Hussey too struck a composed note, stating that the team was preparing for an exciting league stage finale.
“We’re going to obviously have to take care of our business. Probably need a couple of results to go our way as well. But that’s the nature of this tournament. And I feel like it’s really building to a really nice climax.
“And that’s why I think it’s one of the best tournaments in the world, because at this stage of the tournament, you know, there’s only two teams that are actually definitely out. Even the teams that are below us are still a chance, you know, theoretically to make the final. So I think it’s an awesome opportunity for everyone. But, yeah, that’s the way we’ll be looking at it,” added Hussey.
Hussey acknowledged that the bowlers’ failure to break the opening partnership between Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis early allowed LSG to convert the match into a one-sided game, but he thought CSK batters had done an admirable job posting 187 on a ground that offered pace and bounce.
He continued by saying that Marsh was able to easily adapt to the bouncy circumstances because of his prior experience batting on fast Australian pitches.
“Our guys did a pretty good job to get to that score, 180, what did we get, 187. I thought it was a good effort to get there because it did look challenging, especially with, you know, they (LSG) had a good pace attack, hit the pitch hard, got some good pace and bounce, so it was a really good effort.
“And then, I think, the way they started, you know, they obviously were going to come out pretty hard, take their chances and if they get away, they’re hard to stop. You know, Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis, they both enjoy playing on those sort of faster, bouncier pitches coming from Australia.”
Hussey believes that Marsh is a player who is always dangerous when his confidence is high, and that’s what occurred on Friday.
“So there was a bit of an advantage there and then once they get their confidence up and impose themselves on the game, then it can be hard to stop. So, yeah, obviously the plan was to try and get a couple of early wickets and then really put the pressure on them through the middle and yeah, we just couldn’t unfortunately break that opening partnership until it was probably a little bit too late,” said Hussey.
