The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) challenge could not have come at a worse time for Chennai Super Kings. With their self-belief almost flattened after beginning IPL 2022 with four consecutive losses, Chennai on Tuesday will face an RCB side who have been overcoming challenges with confidence.

Both the teams are playing under new captains this season. But while RCB have been flying high with captain Faf du Plessis leading by example, Chennai, under Ravindra Jadeja, have lacked the fight in almost all departments of the game.

What ails Chennai? It’s difficult to pinpoint a single issue, their lacklustre performance so far has been the result of a combination of multiple failures, which perhaps began with unwise moves at the auction table earlier this year.

It’s very difficult in T20s to do well if the opening is not good consistently. And Chennai have suffered mostly because Ruturaj Gaikwad, unstoppable last season, has fallen face first this time. Robin Uthappa though has managed some brisk starts as the second opener.

The middle order too has lacked spine, with the likes of Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu and Jadeja himself somehow not finding their scoring shots consistently.

The bowling looks equally in a mess with lack of genuine wicket-takers. With such a team, Chennai would need all the guidance from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to climb out of the pit. Another loss might render their campaign useless.

RCB will miss Harshal Patel, who has had to leave the bio-bubble due to the death of his sister. Harshal is a key cog in RCB’s bowling wheel.