Once again, the Chennai Super Kings were found wanting chasing a target above 175 runs when they lost to the Rajasthan Royals by six runs in Guwahati on Sunday. The batting unit, especially the top and middle order, failed to deliver, thus raising some serious questions. While most teams are now easy in chasing 200, CSK seems to be behind an era, failing to adapt to the current-day requirements of T20 cricket now. They lost by six runs against RR, making it nine attempts since 2021 in which CSK has failed to chase down a target of 175 or more. Struggles began in 2022, when CSK was defeated by 54 runs while chasing 181 against PBKS. Since then, the Men in Yellow have lost eight more matches trying to chase down targets of similar nature. Of these, they fell to PBKS twice in 2022, twice to RR in 2023, and lost once each to DC, GT, and RCB in 2024. In 2025, they again unsuccessfully chased such targets versus RCB and RR. What tied these run-chases together was the failure of either the top or the middle order. This inconsistency, which has been in the making since last year, continues to be a serious issue up until twenty twenty-five. Compared to other teams that chase very aggressively during powerplay, CSK generally starts off too sluggishly or loses trophies quickly and puts a lot of pressure on the middle-order. Margin Opposition Date 54 runs PBKS 3 Apr 2022 11 runs PBKS 25 Apr 2022 3 runs RR 12 Apr 2023 32 runs RR 27 Apr 2023 20 runs DC 31 Mar 2024 35 runs GT 10 May 2024 27 runs RCB 18 May 2024 50 runs RCB 28 Mar 2025 6 runs RR 30 Mar 2025 (CSK’s unsuccessful 175+ run-chases since 2021) Read also: Fans praise Naman Dhir's stunning catch to dismiss Harshit Rana. It is no more possible to solely depend on Dhoni and Jadeja, leaving it to them to rescue chases. The top and middle-order batters need to come up and support the finishers to close games. This is now the new norm. CSK has got a big drawback in two out of three matches in the IPL 2025 so far, where it failed to chase down targets of 175-plus. Will they thrash that image and be counted among the other teams along with these?