IPL 2019: Report Card at the halfway stage of the tournament

#2 Chennai Super Kings: 9/10

Captain Thala and his team are on a roll.

In stark contrast with their neighbours, Chennai seems to have yet again unlocked the Midas' touch. Captain Dhoni seems focussed and motivated as ever and almost every position in the playing XI seems to be well-set. Openers Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson have given flying starts to the team. In the middle order, Kedhar Jadhav and Dhoni have been playing well, with the latter now leading the team's batting chart with 214 runs. Rayudu has also adapted well to his new no. 5 spot.

The animated duo of Imran Tahir and Harbhajan have 16 scalps in between them. They have wonderfully demonstrated how they can give the younger bowlers a run for their money. With Deepak Chahar already having taken 10 wickets and Dwayne Bravo fast recovering from his injury, there is only one obvious problem for CSK- Raina's form. Though he has contributed 136 runs, he has not looked in his fluent best. (That is, until his knock against Kolkata on Sunday!)

CSK's fielding also has been energetic, successfully mounting pressure on the batsmen. Barring a minor blip, courtesy a last over blitzkrieg by Hardik Pandya, Chennai's campaign has been dreamlike. Going by the current performance, Chennai is sure to enter the playoffs and will ideally finish top table to play the first qualifier.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL schedule, news, points table, live scores, orange cap, purple cap and fantasy tips.