Nicholas Pooran’s batting currently looks like an exclamation mark. He’s striking at 215.43 per 100 balls! He’s become a six-hitting outlier – his average of 5.1 sixes per match this season is the best in the IPL history among those who’ve hit at least 20 sixes in a season!

But for Chennai Super Kings, which takes on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium here on Monday, his batting is a question mark. How does CSK negate a batter who has single-handedly hit nearly as many sixes (31) as all its batters have collectively managed to (32)? How do the CSK spinners tame a spin-slayer who strikes spin at 272.46 with 22 sixes?

CSK might have an interesting match-up, though. Pooran has been dismissed twice in three innings and has scored only two runs in eight balls in the IPL against its left-arm wrist-spinner and Purple Cap-holder Noor Ahmad.

But, for that to play out, CSK has to first go through Mitchell Marsh if he plays. It has to contain Marsh and his opening partner Aiden Markram in the PowerPlay.

Forget about LSG’s batting riches, CSK has to repair its own batting. How does it maximise the PowerPlay and not lose too many wickets? How does it frequently hit fours and sixes? How does it not play too many dot balls? How does it string together at least one substantial partnership?

These might seem like T20 101, but that’s sadly what the five-time champion contends with.

CSK does try, but does it try hard enough?

Because, even for the cosmos to collude with it, CSK has to be challenging enough.