Data Shorts: Mhatre aces the short-ball challenge with flair

Chennai Super Kings' struggles have continued from IPL 2025 into 2026 with another poor start. This marks only the second time they have begun a season with two consecutive losses, the first being in 2022.

Amid the team's difficulties, Ayush Mhatre has emerged as a key positive, much like in the latter half of last season. While he has been moved to No. 3 this year, he has been forced to bat early in both matches due to quick dismissals of Sanju Samson. After a first-ball dismissal to a bouncer against Rajasthan Royals, Mhatre reasserted his proficiency against short-pitched bowling against Punjab Kings' pace attack.

In his innings of 73, Mhatre scored 65 off 34 balls against pace (Strike Rate: 191.17), with 19 runs coming from pull shots, including two sixes and a four. His performance against hard lengths from seamers is exceptional: among 38 batters facing at least 50 such deliveries in the IPL since 2025, his strike rate of 240.67 leads the next best (210.10) by a significant margin. He attacks 85.7% of these balls, the highest rate among qualifiers.

Best Strike Rate vs short balls from quicks in the IPL since 2025

*Minimum 50 balls faced | Attack % indicates percentage of balls with attacking shots

Mhatre playing the pull/hook shot vs quicks in the IPL

Within the Powerplay (overs 1-6), Mhatre has scored 116 runs off 50 balls (1 dismissal, Strike Rate: 232) against hard lengths, the highest strike rate with a minimum of 20 balls faced. This starkly contrasts with his CSK teammates. In IPL 2025, CSK batters collectively averaged 19.8 against short balls in the Powerplay, the lowest among all teams and well below the tournament average of 34.8.

CSK Batters vs Hard Lengths in Overs 1-6 Since IPL 2025

While Ruturaj Gaikwad struggled for timing, Mhatre contributed 67 runs (69.8%) in a 96-run second-wicket partnership, putting CSK in a strong position by the 11th over. However, the team lost momentum, scoring only 20/3 in the next three overs. A late blitz from Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan proved insufficient. While CSK's batting lineup appears stronger than in 2025, especially with Dewald Brevis set to return, the team requires greater intent and impact from their other batters to match the level set by their youngest member, Mhatre.