Chennai Super Kings

In the absence of the 29-year-old pace bowler, the defending champions' IPL 2022 campaign has floundered as they have won just one game -- against RCB -- in five outings, and are placed ninth and second-last on the points table.

In a massive blow for the Ravindra Jadeja-led defending champions, the 29-year-old picked up a back injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru while rehabilitating from a quadricep injury sustained during the third T20I against West Indies in February.

Chahar was the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru after Ishan Kishan, being bought for the mindboggling sum for the next three years by the four-time IPL champions for his ability to swing the new ball both ways and also bowl the knuckle ball. He is also capable of big hits down the order.

In a high-scoring thriller, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 23 runs. It was the first win of CSK in IPL 2022 and the first victory for Ravindra Jadeja as a captain. Here are the key highlights of the game:

Jadeja had come in for criticism following the defending champions' string of four consecutive losses in IPL 2022, with critics says that CSK had lost its winning ways after Mahendra Singh Dhoni relinquished captaincy of the four-time IPL champion side. But on Tuesday night, CSK notched their first win in five matches, defeating the in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 23 runs in a high-scoring match, with Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube scoring masterful knocks of 88 and an unbeaten 95, respectively.

The middle-order batter had been patchy in the four matches prior to the big 'Southern Derby' on Tuesday. In the opening game of the season against KKR, Dube managed only three and again scored three runs against SunRisers Hyderabad in the fourth match of the season. In between, he had scores of 49 (vs LSG) and 57 (vs PBKS), respectively. And, while he was scoring, the inconsistency was not really lending solidity to the middle order.

Faf du Plessis, who took over the reins of the side from long-serving skipper Virat Kohli, allayed fears on Tuesday that his side would likely buckle under pressure. Speaking on RCB Bold Diaries, the former South African captain -- who was also part of the CSK camp between 2018 and 2021

Both sides have so far had contrasting fortunes in this edition of the IPL. While RCB have been flying high on the back of superb performances from their batters as well as bowlers and are currently third on the points table after three wins in four outings, the Ravindra Jadeja-led CSK are scraping the bottom of the table after four consecutive losses.

Three losses in three games so far in IPL 2022 have seen the four-time champions languishing at eighth in the 10-team tournament, and just above five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who are ninth with an equal number of losses. The added motivation to win could from come from Jadeja himself, as he will play his 150th game for CSK in the lucrative tournament. Only two CSK cricketers -- former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (217 matches) and Suresh Raina (200 matches) -- have accomplished the feat for the four-time IPL champions.

Only two CSK cricketers -- former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (217 matches) and Suresh Raina (200 matches) -- have accomplished the feat for the four-time IPL champions. Jadeja's stint with CSK started in 2012 and the all-rounder has grown from a talented player to a senior statesman during his decade-long stay. Jadeja is the third-highest wicket-taker for CSK, having scalped 110 wickets in 149 matches. With the willow, the left-handed batter has amassed 1,523 runs for the Chennai team.