u/BenzamineFranklin

1. Toss and Chase: Ignoring the KKR washout game, we won 4/6 tosses in first half (Chased in all 4 matches, and against LSG we lost the toss and were put to chase). And in second half, we won only 1/5 tosses (chased in only this match). This is where the law of averages caught up with us. We are a very toss (and chase) dependent team. Why? -->
2. Bowling and Fielding: Our bowling unit is not clicking. At a given day only 2/5 bowlers bowl well, and other 3 go for way too many runs. But this is not entirely bowling's fault, as we have terribly poor fielding performance as well. The bowling numbers can be better if our fielders take catches, but that doesn't seem to happen. In the match against SRH, when we had a chance to chase well, Ishan and Klassen were dropped 3 times I believe in their initial phase of innings, and they scored the bulk of the runs. But why are we dropping so many catches? -->
3. Pressure: Having the longest unbeaten streak comes with eyeballs, and often with scrutiny. Shashank was in everyone's eyes from the day he dropped 2 catches against LSG, and dropped KL against DC, where he scored 150+. That was the day when our fielding (and total) downfall started. In last 5 matches we were always the scared party while fielding. And to be honest, our team has never been under the scanner at this level. Our fanbase has historically been smaller and irrelevant compared to other major teams.
4. Social Media: To add to the increased scrutiny, we made a lot of enemies with the team's social media behavior, which in turn added even more eyeballs to our performances. Fanbases started actively hating us, and this clearly comes till the players (especially through Arshdeep). For example Arshdeep started mocking Shashank playfully in his vlogs, and it was pretty clear that Shashank wasn't handling it well, and whenever he is on the field he is a shell of his previous self. Granted he made fun of himself and improved, but that style clearly doesn't work for everyone. Our players and management are not used to handling this excess scrutiny. We were very quick to dish it, but not quite strong to really take it.

The only solace is that all the matches that we lost were relatively close (apart from SRH, which was also well fought), and we still are a good team, just in a terrible rut. The things above need to be addressed quickly and an injection of confidence is needed to make playoffs. Although I personally believe it will still be too little and too late.

1. Toss and Chase: Ignoring the KKR game, we won 4/6 tosses in first half (Chased in all 4 matches, and against LSG we lost the toss and were put to chase). And in second half, we won only 1/5 tosses (chased in only this match). This is where the law of averages caught up with us. We are a very toss (and chase) dependent team. Why? -->
2. Bowling and Fielding: Our bowling unit is not clicking. At a given day only 2/5 bowlers bowl well, and other 3 go for way too many runs. But this is not entirely bowling's fault, as we have terribly poor fielding performance as well. The bowling numbers can be better if our fielders take catches, but that doesn't seem to happen. In the match against SRH, when we had a chance to chase well, Ishan and Klassen were dropped 3 times I believe in their initial phase of innings, and they scored the bulk of the runs. But why are we dropping so many catches? -->
3. Pressure: Having the longest unbeaten streak comes with eyeballs, and often with scrutiny. Shashank was in everyone's eyes from the day he dropped 2 catches against LSG, and dropped KL against DC, where he scored 150+. That was the day when our fielding (and total) downfall started. In last 5 matches we were always the scared party while fielding. And to be honest, our team has never been under the scanner at this level. Our fanbase has historically been smaller and irrelevant compared to other major teams.
4. Social Media: To add to the increased scrutiny, we made a lot of enemies with the team's social media behavior, which in turn added even more eyeballs to our performances. Fanbases started actively hating us, and this clearly comes till the players (especially through Arshdeep). For example Arshdeep started mocking Shashank playfully in his vlogs, and it was pretty clear that Shashank wasn't handling it well, and whenever he is on the field he is a shell of his previous self. Granted he made fun of himself and improved, but that style clearly doesn't work for everyone. Our players and management are not used to handling this excess scrutiny. We were very quick to dish it, but not quite strong to really take it.

The only solace is that all the matches that we lost were relatively close (apart from SRH, which was also well fought), and we still are a good team, just in a terrible rut. The things above need to be addressed quickly and an injection of confidence is needed to make playoffs. Although I personally believe it will still be too little and too late.